Email Archive - Archive 2004 (5468 messages)

I just ordered a skewb, ultimate skewb, and a DIY pyraminx kit from mefferts.com. In the past, I have ordered a Megaminx and a set of tiles, as well as the Eastsheen christmas bundle from a while back. I also have ordered some studio cubes from Ton. I have only ordered a diy cube and some stickers from hessport.com For someone interested in the Rubik's Cube, I seem to throw a lot of my business in places other than hessport.com. Does anyone here buy lots of product from hessport? Just wondering. BTW, Does anyone know when they will release their DIY speedcube?

> > Thanks for putting this together and including this group, though > it > > looks like not very many people have participated yet (from this > > group). I did the 2x2x2 and 3x3x3 averages, but I'm confused on > the > > instructions for the 4x4x4 scramble... > > It says "Randomize 4x4 sigle slice movements (B) followed by double > > slice movements (C)" - does this mean that I apply the sequence in > > column B to just the faces, and then the sequence in column C to > the Hi Grant, A Happy New Year! Thanks for your participating our 100th conmeptition. I just came back from vacation and uploaded my records which I timed (only 3x3 categories). I can see several Japanese participants on our sites. I will transfer to this site as soon as possible. That will be more exciting for you guys. Sorry for my confusing explanation. Thanks again for your proper understanding. Column (B) to just the faces, column (C) is for outer and inner slices. ex. R means Rr, B is Bb in column (C). Enjoy! Masayuki Akimoto

Happy New Year! Just wondering if anyone knows any places I can buy different puzzles (e.g. square-1, 4x4x4, etc.) in Houston. Thanks in advance. -cubekid

Does anyone know of a program that generates random scrambling algorithms for the square-1 (like Jess Bonde's timer generates random scrambling algorithms for the 3x3x3)? Also, how many turns is "enough" to scramble the square-1? Ian

Hello everyone, Just let you that a 3-D Virtual Rubiks Cube (2x2x2 to 8x8x8) is available from http://www.vrk.741.com It can solve 3x3x3 in 4 different ways. Instructions for solving 4x4x4 were included. It is an excellent site for begginners. Jeff

And of course, as with all the methods, the more you are willing to memorize, the more stages you can skip and the faster you can get... like there's also the ZB method out there which orients the last layer while putting in the last edge/corner pair but I think that's 300 algorithms. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "lloyd_nicholls" > <lloyd_nicholls@h...> wrote: > > Hi, > > > > I apologize if this has been asked many times before but I'm new to > > this and was just wondering what people thought the fastest method > > of solving a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube is? > > Hi Lloyd, > > The method I use is my own. I don't know if it's the "fastest." > > First two levels: > Choose what will be your first level, middle level and last level. > Place two middle level edges on any one side. > Place the 4 corners of the first level. > Place the other two middle level edge pieces. > Place the 4 first level edge pieces (most often on the bottom. > > There are many options for solving the Last level it shouldn't be > too hard to find one of your choosing, or to make one up of your own. > > This takes between 36 and 54 moves on average. > > On occasion I do corners first and that's almost as fast time-wise, > which recommends it because I really don't practice that method. > > The fastest would be doing all the corners and all the edges at the > same time, but memorizing several quintillion algs is out of the > question! :) > > Regards, > > David J

Wouldn't that be awesome? A shop devoted to just Rubik's Cube puzzles? I personally haven't seen any out there. The Game Keeper (a shop I think from the Wizards of the Coast who do all the magic card stuff) will occasionally sell some Rubik's type puzzles like the cube, the snake, and the UFO, but generally your best bet is to buy these things online. Try http://www.mefferts.com/ They've got a lot of stuff. -Tyson --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "gotsoup420" <gotsoup420@y...> wrote: > Happy New Year! Just wondering if anyone knows any places I can buy > different puzzles (e.g. square-1, 4x4x4, etc.) in Houston. Thanks in > advance. > > -cubekid

ahh i thought so. allright thanks. -cubekid tmao@... wrote: Wouldn't that be awesome? A shop devoted to just Rubik's Cube puzzles? I personally haven't seen any out there. The Game Keeper (a shop I think from the Wizards of the Coast who do all the magic card stuff) will occasionally sell some Rubik's type puzzles like the cube, the snake, and the UFO, but generally your best bet is to buy these things online. Try http://www.mefferts.com/ They've got a lot of stuff. -Tyson --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "gotsoup420" <gotsoup420@y...> wrote: > Happy New Year! Just wondering if anyone knows any places I can buy > different puzzles (e.g. square-1, 4x4x4, etc.) in Houston. Thanks in > advance. > > -cubekid Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? New Yahoo! Photos - easier uploading and sharing [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone, The results for the 19/12/03 FMC are now online! Also a new challenge is open and ready for you to take part in. Make it your New Years Resolution to have a go! I have created a discussion group for the Fewest Moves, and intend to break all discussions and news about fewest moves solving away from the speedsolvingrubikscube group, and instead post it into the fewestmoveschallenge group... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fewestmoveschallenge You are all, of course, invited to join. I'm hoping it will all go well, and Happy New Year to all! DanH :) - www.cubestation.co.uk

Hi everybody, My site has gone through some major changes since New Year's Eve. I finally have all of the videos and newspaper links posted. The format of the site is complete. Eventually I will have all of Ryan Heise's method on the site including optimized sequences and images for the cases. I would be interested in your feedback about what you think about the new looks to my site. (rubiks1938@...) Andy http://s92824201.onlinehome.us/index.htm

The space of edges with centers has a unique antipode in the quarter turn metric. Edges with centers is what you get if you remove all corner cubies, and to my knowledge it has not been explored exhaustively until now. These are the results of my exploration of this space: Edges with centers, quarter turn metric: Dist Positions Unique wrt M Unique wrt M+inv ---- --------------- ------------- ---------------- 0 1 1 1 1 12 1 1 2 114 5 5 3 1,068 25 17 4 9,819 215 128 5 89,392 1,886 986 6 807,000 16,902 8,652 7 7,209,384 150,442 75,740 8 63,624,107 1,326,326 665,398 9 552,158,812 11,505,339 5,759,523 10 4,643,963,023 96,755,918 48,408,203 11 36,003,343,336 750,089,528 375,164,394 12 208,075,583,101 4,334,978,635 2,167,999,621 13 441,790,281,226 9,204,132,452 4,603,365,303 14 277,713,627,518 5,785,844,935 2,894,003,596 15 12,144,555,140 253,044,012 126,739,897 16 23,716 750 677 17 30 3 3 18 1 1 1 This should complete sequence A080632. It also negates a comment associated with that sequence, that: Total number of inequivalent positions = 851625008. This count is "with centers". The real value should be 980,995,276,800 for overall positions, 20,437,847,376 for M, and 10,222,192,146 for M+inv.

Excellent Website, Very top notch Pro style.. just keeps reminding me I should finish my own... you've got me thinking about learning this method, cause i just started learning ZB 2weeks ago and have about 40 LL done.. and will probably learn all LAstlayer for fun but... Question, Are you using the RYans first step too or or just X/f2l-1 and does ryan use this method at all?

> Excellent Website, Very top notch Pro style.. Thanks. It took a while to figure out how I wanted to lay out the site. > Question, Are you using the RYans first step too or or just X/f2l-1 > and does ryan use this method at all? Right now I use the cross/F2L (minus the last pair). Then I do the rest using Ryan's method. I still have over half of step 4 to learn yet but sometimes I get a case that I can solve. Eventually I will also be using his step 1. Ryan does use this method. Andy

Hi Tom, The first thing that comes to mind looking at that table is "What is the antipode?". My guesses are 12-flip and 12-flip plus 4 dot. Let me add that the size of edges-only 3x3x3 breaks down like this: (2 ^ 12 / 2 ) * 12! = 980,995,276,800 I'm pretty sure this is the biggest cube group calculation so far. Almost a trillion (10^12) positions, very big to be sure but still 7 orders of magnitude less that the full cube. The branching factor of this subgroup is a bit unusal: (someone might want to double check my arithmetric) BF starts higher as usual, but then does an odd dip and goes back up to around 9 and slowly decreases. Further along the BF decreases to almost nothing, then increases a bit at the end. 12 12 7.41666 9.19382 9.10398 9.02765 8.93356 8.82518 8.67845 8.41056 7.75272 5.77931 2.12322 0.62861 0.04373 0.000002 0.00126 0.03333 I was expecting such a large group to have more than one antipode, but I seem to recall Jerry Bryan talking about an unique antipode for edges only without centres, so perhaps it wasn't a complete surprise. On Friday 02 January 2004 02:27 pm, tomrokicki wrote: > The space of edges with centers has a unique antipode in the quarter > turn metric. > > Edges with centers is what you get if you remove all corner cubies, > and to my knowledge it has not been explored exhaustively until now. > > These are the results of my exploration of this space: > > Edges with centers, quarter turn metric: > > Dist Positions Unique wrt M Unique wrt M+inv > ---- --------------- ------------- ---------------- > 0 1 1 1 > 1 12 1 1 > 2 114 5 5 > 3 1,068 25 17 > 4 9,819 215 128 > 5 89,392 1,886 986 > 6 807,000 16,902 8,652 > 7 7,209,384 150,442 75,740 > 8 63,624,107 1,326,326 665,398 > 9 552,158,812 11,505,339 5,759,523 > 10 4,643,963,023 96,755,918 48,408,203 > 11 36,003,343,336 750,089,528 375,164,394 > 12 208,075,583,101 4,334,978,635 2,167,999,621 > 13 441,790,281,226 9,204,132,452 4,603,365,303 > 14 277,713,627,518 5,785,844,935 2,894,003,596 > 15 12,144,555,140 253,044,012 126,739,897 > 16 23,716 750 677 > 17 30 3 3 > 18 1 1 1 > > This should complete sequence A080632. It also negates a comment > associated with that sequence, that: > > Total number of inequivalent positions = 851625008. > This count is "with centers". > > The real value should be 980,995,276,800 for overall positions, > 20,437,847,376 for M, and 10,222,192,146 for M+inv.

Howdy, Mark! > The first thing that comes to mind looking at that table is > "What is the antipode?". My guesses are 12-flip > and 12-flip plus 4 dot. It's the position where each edge is in its diametrically opposite place (through the center of the cube), and also each edge has its orientation changed. (That is, if white was up, the UF edge is in the DB position with the white sticker on the B face.) > The branching factor of this subgroup is a bit unusual: That's just a minor math error; the branching factor is smoothly down; 12 then 9.5 and then hanging around the 9's for a long time. > I was expecting such a large group to have more than one antipode, Me too! > but I seem to recall Jerry Bryan talking about an unique antipode > for edges only without centres, so perhaps it wasn't a complete > surprise. Yeah, that was interesting, that with or without centers, there is only one antipode. I believe this antipode is the same as the antipode without centers. I'll be running the half turn metric next. And then it's on to the whole cube group.

On Saturday 03 January 2004 12:21 am, tomrokicki wrote: > Howdy, Mark! > > > The first thing that comes to mind looking at that table is > > "What is the antipode?". My guesses are 12-flip > > and 12-flip plus 4 dot. > > It's the position where each edge is in its diametrically > opposite place (through the center of the cube), and also > each edge has its orientation changed. (That is, if white > was up, the UF edge is in the DB position with the white > sticker on the B face.) Yes, 12 flip plus pons asinorum (6 X order 2). > > > The branching factor of this subgroup is a bit unusual: > > That's just a minor math error; the branching factor is > smoothly down; 12 then 9.5 and then hanging around the 9's for > a long time. Wrote down 114 as 144, oops 114 / 12 = 9.5 1068 / 114 = 9.36842 > > > I was expecting such a large group to have more than one antipode, > > Me too! > > > but I seem to recall Jerry Bryan talking about an unique antipode > > for edges only without centres, so perhaps it wasn't a complete > > surprise. > > Yeah, that was interesting, that with or without centers, there is > only one antipode. > > I believe this antipode is the same as the antipode without > centers. > > I'll be running the half turn metric next. And then it's on to > the whole cube group. I guess the next stop is 12 q in the full cube group unless you've done it already. The last result I know of is at depth 11: 62,549,615,248 (February 4, 1995)

Hey Everyone, I've been presented with a Skewb Cube and one of the corners is twisted the wrong way. Does anyone know how to disassemble it and put it back together? -Tyson

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > Hey Everyone, > > I've been presented with a Skewb Cube and one of the corners is > twisted the wrong way. Does anyone know how to disassemble it and put > it back together? > > -Tyson Hi Tyson This is the disassemble position http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/Skewb1.JPG Put the Skewb in disassemble postion and pull one center segment up. Assemble is just the reverse process. The parts http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/Skewb3.JPG It might be a corner fixed on the axle, so you might have to disassemble more pieces or rotate an other corner (not on the axle) counter clock wise. Please note, it could be possible that someone switches the stickers so check also the sticker layout of this corner. Success! Ton

Here's the results of exploring edges with centers in the half-turn metric. Edges with centers, half turn metric: Dist Positions Unique mod M Unique mod M+inv ---- --------------- ------------- ---------------- 0 1 1 1 1 18 2 2 2 243 9 8 3 3,240 75 48 4 42,807 925 505 5 555,866 11,684 6,018 6 7,070,103 147,680 74,618 7 87,801,812 1,830,601 918,432 8 1,050,559,626 21,890,847 10,960,057 9 11,588,911,021 241,449,652 120,788,522 10 110,409,721,989 2,300,251,615 1,150,428,080 11 552,734,197,682 11,515,452,614 5,759,027,817 12 304,786,076,626 6,349,914,756 3,176,487,580 13 330,335,518 6,896,891 3,500,434 14 248 24 24 (Yahoo previews this table properly lined up but when it is actually served up as a message the spaces are squeezed out.)

Hi Masayuki, thanks a lot for the contest! However, there are two things I'd like you to change, please (I could do it, too, but I guess it looks better if all tables are created by the same person): - Add the table for "3 in row". - Make two separate tables for 2x2 BLD and 3x3 BLD. Thanks again! Stefan

In case you find cool puzzle stores, please let me know. I started a website about this recently (not much content yet, though): http://www.stefan-pochmann.de/spocc/cool_stores/

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > Hi Masayuki, > thanks a lot for the contest! However, there are two things I'd like > you to change, please (I could do it, too, but I guess it looks > better if all tables are created by the same person): > > - Add the table for "3 in row". > - Make two separate tables for 2x2 BLD and 3x3 BLD. Hi Stefan, Thanks for your participating the contests and suggestions. I wish I could make more tables. Probably, we can' make more tables. Same problem happens in Japanese egroup. They seem limiting 10 tables/group. So please e-mail me your results for "3 in row" or whatever you have problems. I will post your records on the web site later. Happy cubing. Masayuki Akimoto masayuki@...

Hey! Just one suggestion, not sure it will work. Try to put <code> ... </code> around ur table. Maybe it will work that way :-) **(test)** <code> Dist Positions Unique mod M Unique mod M+inv ---- --------------- ------------- ---------------- 0 1 1 1 1 18 2 2 2 243 9 8 </code> **(end test)** --cubix-- --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "tomrokicki" <rokicki@c...> wrote: > Here's the results of exploring edges with centers in the > half-turn metric. > > Edges with centers, half turn metric: > > Dist Positions Unique mod M Unique mod M+inv > ---- --------------- ------------- ---------------- > 0 1 1 1 > 1 18 2 2 > 2 243 9 8 > 3 3,240 75 48 > 4 42,807 925 505 > 5 555,866 11,684 6,018 > 6 7,070,103 147,680 74,618 > 7 87,801,812 1,830,601 918,432 > 8 1,050,559,626 21,890,847 10,960,057 > 9 11,588,911,021 241,449,652 120,788,522 > 10 110,409,721,989 2,300,251,615 1,150,428,080 > 11 552,734,197,682 11,515,452,614 5,759,027,817 > 12 304,786,076,626 6,349,914,756 3,176,487,580 > 13 330,335,518 6,896,891 3,500,434 > 14 248 24 24 > > (Yahoo previews this table properly lined up but when it > is actually served up as a message the spaces are squeezed > out.)

Oh well it was worth a try ;-) --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Per Kristen Fredlund" <aspiring_to_love@y...> wrote: > Hey! > > Just one suggestion, not sure it will work. Try to put <code> ... > </code> around ur table. Maybe it will work that way :-) > > **(test)** > > <code> > > Dist Positions Unique mod M Unique mod M+inv > ---- --------------- ------------- ---------------- > 0 1 1 1 > 1 18 2 2 > 2 243 9 8 > > </code> > > **(end test)** > > --cubix-- > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "tomrokicki" > <rokicki@c...> wrote: > > Here's the results of exploring edges with centers in the > > half-turn metric. > > > > Edges with centers, half turn metric: > > > > Dist Positions Unique mod M Unique mod M+inv > > ---- --------------- ------------- ---------------- > > 0 1 1 1 > > 1 18 2 2 > > 2 243 9 8 > > 3 3,240 75 48 > > 4 42,807 925 505 > > 5 555,866 11,684 6,018 > > 6 7,070,103 147,680 74,618 > > 7 87,801,812 1,830,601 918,432 > > 8 1,050,559,626 21,890,847 10,960,057 > > 9 11,588,911,021 241,449,652 120,788,522 > > 10 110,409,721,989 2,300,251,615 1,150,428,080 > > 11 552,734,197,682 11,515,452,614 5,759,027,817 > > 12 304,786,076,626 6,349,914,756 3,176,487,580 > > 13 330,335,518 6,896,891 3,500,434 > > 14 248 24 24 > > > > (Yahoo previews this table properly lined up but when it > > is actually served up as a message the spaces are squeezed > > out.)

I never thought Id do it but I broke 1 min 30 seconds last night using the basic Nerdparadise.com (O'Hare) method. video available upon request, kinda lucky got to skip a step. 1:28.79 wow Im excited...I haven't updated my site to include it because I have to solve 26 cubes before I update the site's times page...just to make it work with the template I use for the times database. ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ Im going to post my pics from the first cube lube I ever did last night as well. here's my webpage neocuber.250free.com/index.html rather basic but it makes me not depressed to be happy about cubing so im better off than last year so YAY! Happiness IS a lubed cube. ^_^ -K --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Find out what made the Top Yahoo! Searches of 2003 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I never thought Id do it but I broke 1 min 30 seconds last night using the basic Nerdparadise.com (O'Hare) method. video available upon request, kinda lucky got to skip a step. 1:28.79 wow Im excited...I haven't updated my site to include it because I have to solve 26 cubes before I update the site's times page...just to make it work with the template I use for the times database. ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ Im going to post my pics from the first cube lube I ever did last night as well. here's my webpage neocuber.250free.com/index.html rather basic but it makes me not depressed to be happy about cubing so im better off than last year so YAY! Happiness IS a lubed cube. ^_^ -K --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Find out what made the Top Yahoo! Searches of 2003 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

HE HAS IT POSTED BUT IT ISN'T SO CLEAR....HELP!

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "peenokay" <peenokay@y...> wrote: > HE HAS IT POSTED BUT IT ISN'T SO CLEAR....HELP! I am currently using Guimond's method. The basic Idea is a bit more clear (and complete) in his french page. The basic Idea is to solve the corners in 3 algs. First, get all of the corners oriented so that the U and D facelets are on the U and D face (1 of 16 algs). For example, If you want to start with Red and Orange as your reference colors, you want all of the U corners and all of the D face corners to be red or orange, with any mix of red and orange on the U and D face. Second, separate the U and D colors, so that you have all of one color on the U face, and all of the opposite color on the D face (1 of 3 algs). Finally , permute the corners in the U and D layers to solve the corners (1 of 5 Algs). What you are looking for in this step are adjacent corners in the U layer and D layer which are in the correct position relative to each other. I am guessing that you are having problems with the first step. The basic Idea is to start off with exactly 3 U and/or D corner facelets on the D face, with the odd corner parked in the DBL position. For example, if you are using Red and Orange as your U and D colors, then the D face corners would be red or orange in the DFL, DFR, and DBR positions, and there would be a blue, green, white, or yellow facelet in the DBL position. That DBL corner cubie will have a Red or Orange sticker on the L face or the B face. Guimond's site shows the 8 U face patterns which exist when you have the D face set up as described above, with the red or orange sticker on the DBL corner on the L face. because it is possible that the DBL corner will have the Red/Orange sticker on the B face, there are an additional 8 algs for step 1, which are reflections of the first 8 U face patterns shown on Guimond's site. Try doing the reverse of each alg on a solved cube and note the initial position of the U/D sticker group on both the U and D faces. Let me know if this helps. Lucas

Hey all I just got my 5x5x5 Mini-Cube today from Mefferts. I like it a lot. It is kind of stiff, and I was just wondering, has anyone had any trouble lubing one? I am assuming it is mechanically identical to a regular 5x5x5, which means it would probably be safe, I just don't want my stickers to start falling off or other weird things to happen =) Also, the white and red center peices fall off from time to time, is there any way to secure them? I imagine superglue would work, but then I wouldn't be able to get to those ever-important screws :) Doug

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Doug Reed <dougreed@h...> wrote: > Hey all > > I just got my 5x5x5 Mini-Cube today from Mefferts. I like it a lot. It > is kind of stiff, and I was just wondering, has anyone had any trouble > lubing one? I am assuming it is mechanically identical to a regular > 5x5x5, which means it would probably be safe, I just don't want my > stickers to start falling off or other weird things to happen =) > > Also, the white and red center peices fall off from time to time, is > there any way to secure them? I imagine superglue would work, but then > I wouldn't be able to get to those ever-important screws :) > > Doug Hi Doug Lube will help, you can adjust the screws, however they need to be tight. The cube is a totaly other mechanism as the Rubik's.com cube. For the centercap, make little dents on the side of the cap this wshould fix the center without glue. Ton

I have not timed myself recently, but I am still in the low to mid 40 second range, so nothing to write home about yet. I still tend to have long pauses between algs, and still need to work on my edge placement. Nonetheless, its beginning to feel smoother. Lucas --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Brent Morgan <brentmorganmaster@y...> wrote: > what are your times, Lucas? > bm > http://www.freewebs.com/brentsuniverse

Anyone have a clear explanantion and moves for putting the edges together in the 4x4x4? thanks A. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New Yahoo! Photos - easier uploading and sharing. http://photos.yahoo.com/

On my 5x5x5, heres the alg I use (should work for the 4x4x4) With edge A in the UFr position and edge B in the UBl position, do this: Ll F' L F Ll F This move rotates the UFl edge, the UBl edge, and the uBL edge. Hope it helps. Doug On Mon, 2004-01-05 at 12:43, Allan Munro wrote: > Anyone have a clear explanantion and moves for putting > the edges together in the 4x4x4? > > thanks > > A. > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > New Yahoo! Photos - easier uploading and sharing. > http://photos.yahoo.com/ > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

Hi friends, As you may have noticed we are creating a new category for 3x3x3 average records (other categories may follow) in the Unofficial World Records. With this new category we want to have a more standardized way of measuring averages, so that we can better compare. Please check out the proposed new rules at: http://www.speedcubing.com/records/records-rules.html#officialrules (item 11) Before I proposed these new rules I already discussed them with some of the fast guys around. At the moment I received the following change requests from some of our respected friends: 1) use computer generated random scrambles of 25 moves (face turn metrics) COMMENT: Add metrics system. MY PROPOSAL: Face turn metrics. 2) allow 15 seconds (or less) preinspection NO COMMENTS. 3) use speedstack timer, home-built timer or timer program on computer, measuring hundredths of a second NO COMMENTS. 4) place cube on the timer or table (not in the hands) COMMENT: we should hide the cube (like behind a paper) MY PROPOSAL: I think hiding the cube (which they also did in Toronto) is not necessary, as long as you do not wait more than 5 seconds after preinspection, before starting to solve. 5) start timer when the hands leave the timer (so not when the countdown is finished, because then people could cheat a bit of time picking up early) COMMENT: it would be better to start the time when the cube leaves the table. MY PROPOSAL: I agree that this would be better. But for stopping the timer it is better to not stop when the cube touches the timer, because then you could you still do moves when you already stopped the timer (this is what actually happened in Budapest 1982). To be more consequent and to copy the way of timing in Toronto 2003, I think starting with the hands is better. 6) stop timer, after solving, with the hands on the speedstack timer, or with both hands on the keyboard/timer pad COMMENT: same as for 5. COMMENT: If you use a keyboard, then you cannot check whether both hands touched the keyboard. MY PROPOSAL: Still I think this is a better procedure, because it prevents you from unintentionally stopping the timer while still doing moves with your other hand. 7) allow 1 puzzle defect (POP) in an average run (replace it by extra 13th attempt) COMMENT: do not allow a pop: this makes it clearer, this prevents cheating, there is no competition where you are allowed an extra attempt for a specific defect (like a broken string of a tennis racket) MY PROPOSAL: Since people can use their own cubes, they are also responsible for the quality of their cubes. But in the heat of a competition it is very hard to solve like you would do at home on the sofa. It is unpredictable how your cube will behave under pressure. Having said that, I think that for a 'best of x' competition (like the 1st two rounds in Toronto) we do not need to allow pops. But for a competition based on averages every hundredth of a second counts. And although I see the benefits of not allowing pops, I think we should still allow one pop. 8) allow rolling* averages [this is because otherwise you would be lucky if an average run would start at the 'best' moment] COMMENT: do not allow rolling averages. At a real competition you wouldn't be able to tell the officials to disregard your first few recorded attempts because you were not warmed up yet. MY PROPOSAL: I think your personal best average should not be dependent on the lucky moment where you decided to say: "now I start my average run" and it turned out to be the best moment to start it. 9) allow lucky cases [this is because you can also be lucky in a competition] NO COMMENTS. 10) take average of 12 attempts: remove best and worst attempt, take average of the remaining 10 attempts COMMENT: solving 12 cubes in a competition will be time consuming. In Toronto we solved 5 cubes. MY PROPOSAL: 12 cubes is a beautiful number (leaving 10 counted cubes) and it is a good number to prevent too much luck in an average record. For competitions I think we could stick to 5 cubes. I also received a comment about good light. I absolutely agree with this, the light in Toronto was not good enough. But I think it should not be part of the rules. These rules imply that we need a good program to facilitate us (random scrambles, limited preinspection, timer to start, timer to end, compute averages). Jess Bonde's timer program is a very good start. His program needs some slight changes to deal with rules 2 to 6. I already asked Jess to make a new version of his program. Please post your comments on this club, or send me an e-mail. Don't forget that these rules are the rules for UWR. We prefer to have the same rules for UWR as for official competitions. We cannot make the official rules. We can propose official rules to the RCC (see http://www.rubikschamps.com). Have fun, Ron http://www.speedcubing.com "Do not take speedcubing too seriously"

--- Ron wrote: > As you may have noticed we are creating a new category for 3x3x3 > average records (other categories may follow) in the Unofficial > World Records. With this new category we want to have a more > standardized way of measuring averages, so that we can better > compare. I agree that some more standardization is necessary to make averages more comparable - especially with regards to rolling averages... Here's my thoughts (interspersed): > 1) use computer generated random scrambles of 25 moves (face turn > metrics) Obviously this rule applies only to a 3x3x3 cube - doesn't make sense for larger cubes or other puzzles (at least some of them) without at least a change to the number of turns. > 6) stop timer, after solving, with the hands on the speedstack > timer, or with both hands on the keyboard/timer pad I agree that it's important to make sure you're not still making moves while stopping the timer (or even after stopping it). However, if using a laptop or some other keyboard with a small spacebar (which I would assume is still used to stop the timer), or if you have exceptionally large hands, it may be difficult to put both hands on the timer stopper. It may be more practical to say that, if not using a speedstacks timer, the puzzle must be put down, and the timer stopped with the last hand that touched the puzzle. For example, while holding the puzzle in my left hand, I apply a U turn with the right hand. I then (after removing my right hand from the cube) put the puzzle down with my left hand, and hit the space bar with the left hand to stop the timer. Because the puzzle is put down and the timer stopped with the same hand, and in that order, it guarantees that I'm not making moves after the timer stops. > 8) allow rolling* averages [this is because otherwise you would be > lucky if an average run would start at the 'best' moment] > MY PROPOSAL: I think your personal best average should not be > dependent on the lucky moment where you decided to say: "now I > start my average run" and it turned out to be the best moment to > start it. I suppose it depends on what you want to compare - if you want to compare your absolute best average against that of others, then you should be allowed to use a rolling average. If, instead, you want to compare an average set of speed-solves, then you should not take a rolling average. By saying "Now, I'm starting my average", it probably approximates a more average set of solves. If you wanted to get a bit more confusing about it, I suppose we could, instead, take an "average" average - solve 23 cubes, and take the rolling average (the 12 cubes solved in a row during those 23 solves) that is the median value of the 12 available rolling averages. Of course, I'm sure we'd all hurt ourselves trying to figure that out consistently, so it's probably not a good way to do it. > 10) take average of 12 attempts: remove best and worst attempt, > take average of the remaining 10 attempts I agree that 12 is good, except for puzzles that take a longer time to do... Is this perhaps why more people haven't taken a megaminx average? ;-) Just my $.02 USD - Grant

Scoop BIG CUBE 5x5x5 aluminium ! I upgrate my web site Honnor Fridrich Congradulation Mirek Goljan and more ! Inventor 5x5x5 . The cube is smoooth, excellent mecanism and very long life same plastic version. Inventor News paper. The first cubist look the cube is Akimoto. First réaction of champion"I try it Gaétan". I had a video for you Akimoto and Ton. Function corner. My presonnel experience with the corner. 20 years ago ! easy, original and beautifull for me. News paper Dan Knights, congradulation Dan ! self body controll of champion ! Ron is expert too & very good challenger for the cubist. Still & still my video, cube, Unofficial or official he's unique, ramdom state illusion, blindfold, behind back and fast in the public. The total visual art on the stage for me ! http://www.rubikscuberecord.com./ Cool ! Peace Happy fun cube Happy new year later Gaétan P.S Shotaro Makisumi Tu es un vrai cubiste et un vrai jongleur. J'imagine échanger des cubes et jongler avec toi au dessus de la tête du super Criss Hardwick pendant qu'il fait son cube d'une seule main. Mon meilleur est de multiplier des gros nombres choisi au hasard et un cube mélangé que je connais pas. Je le fais sans attendre et en même temps en moins de 30 secondes sans magie. Blindfold avec les nombres mais pas le cube :)) Toi ta place est dans un championnat ! Que feras tu à 20 ans ?!! Your friend, Katsuyuki Konishi is very hot speed with the rubik's cube:).

Curiously I upgratte my web site and my method, little bit for you, down page. I'm a slowly, excuse me. Soon nexth! Gaétan --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Brent Morgan <brentmorganmaster@y...> wrote: > what are your times, Lucas? > bm > http://www.freewebs.com/brentsuniverse > > cubacca1972 <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "peenokay" > <peenokay@y...> wrote: > > HE HAS IT POSTED BUT IT ISN'T SO CLEAR....HELP! > > I am currently using Guimond's method. The basic Idea is a bit more > clear (and complete) in his french page. > > The basic Idea is to solve the corners in 3 algs. > > First, get all of the corners oriented so that the U and D facelets > are on the U and D face (1 of 16 algs). For example, If you want to > start with Red and Orange as your reference colors, you want all of > the U corners and all of the D face corners to be red or orange, > with any mix of red and orange on the U and D face. > > Second, separate the U and D colors, so that you have all of one > color on the U face, and all of the opposite color on the D face (1 > of 3 algs). > > Finally , permute the corners in the U and D layers to solve the > corners (1 of 5 Algs). What you are looking for in this step are > adjacent corners in the U layer and D layer which are in the correct > position relative to each other. > > I am guessing that you are having problems with the first step. > > The basic Idea is to start off with exactly 3 U and/or D corner > facelets on the D face, with the odd corner parked in the DBL > position. For example, if you are using Red and Orange as your U > and D colors, then the D face corners would be red or orange in the > DFL, DFR, and DBR positions, and there would be a blue, green, > white, or yellow facelet in the DBL position. That DBL corner cubie > will have a Red or Orange sticker on the L face or the B face. > > Guimond's site shows the 8 U face patterns which exist when you have > the D face set up as described above, with the red or orange sticker > on the DBL corner on the L face. > > because it is possible that the DBL corner will have the Red/Orange > sticker on the B face, there are an additional 8 algs for step 1, > which are reflections of the first 8 U face patterns shown on > Guimond's site. > > Try doing the reverse of each alg on a solved cube and note the > initial position of the U/D sticker group on both the U and D faces. > > Let me know if this helps. > > Lucas > > > > --------------------------------- > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > > :) > --Brent > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Find out what made the Top Yahoo! Searches of 2003 > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The french Guinness book 2004 with the record is Ralph on blindfold no speed or fewest move cubist. I had the video Ralph in guinness for you. Ralph is good but the witness scramble the cube a little bit! Excuse my poor english. Guinness voulais me voir avec le cube et mes multiplications mais je ne suis pas capable de compter mes chiffres rapidement en français. Ralph a suivi. Guinness voulait savoir si mon blindfold était magique car il aimait beaucoup!. La vrai histoire du ALLIEN! Gaétan --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Ron" <rvb@c...> wrote: > Hi friends, > > As you may have noticed we are creating a new category for 3x3x3 > average records (other categories may follow) in the Unofficial > World Records. With this new category we want to have a more > standardized way of measuring averages, so that we can better > compare. > > Please check out the proposed new rules at: > http://www.speedcubing.com/records/records- rules.html#officialrules > (item 11) > Before I proposed these new rules I already discussed them with some > of the fast guys around. > > At the moment I received the following change requests from some of > our respected friends: > > 1) use computer generated random scrambles of 25 moves (face turn > metrics) > COMMENT: Add metrics system. > MY PROPOSAL: Face turn metrics. > > 2) allow 15 seconds (or less) preinspection > NO COMMENTS. > > 3) use speedstack timer, home-built timer or timer program on > computer, measuring hundredths of a second > NO COMMENTS. > > 4) place cube on the timer or table (not in the hands) > COMMENT: we should hide the cube (like behind a paper) > MY PROPOSAL: I think hiding the cube (which they also did in > Toronto) is not necessary, as long as you do not wait more than 5 > seconds after preinspection, before starting to solve. > > 5) start timer when the hands leave the timer (so not when the > countdown is finished, because then people could cheat a bit of time > picking up early) > COMMENT: it would be better to start the time when the cube leaves > the table. > MY PROPOSAL: I agree that this would be better. But for stopping the > timer it is better to not stop when the cube touches the timer, > because then you could you still do moves when you already stopped > the timer (this is what actually happened in Budapest 1982). To be > more consequent and to copy the way of timing in Toronto 2003, I > think starting with the hands is better. > > 6) stop timer, after solving, with the hands on the speedstack > timer, or with both hands on the keyboard/timer pad > COMMENT: same as for 5. > COMMENT: If you use a keyboard, then you cannot check whether both > hands touched the keyboard. > MY PROPOSAL: Still I think this is a better procedure, because it > prevents you from unintentionally stopping the timer while still > doing moves with your other hand. > > 7) allow 1 puzzle defect (POP) in an average run (replace it by > extra 13th attempt) > COMMENT: do not allow a pop: this makes it clearer, this prevents > cheating, there is no competition where you are allowed an extra > attempt for a specific defect (like a broken string of a tennis > racket) > MY PROPOSAL: Since people can use their own cubes, they are also > responsible for the quality of their cubes. But in the heat of a > competition it is very hard to solve like you would do at home on > the sofa. It is unpredictable how your cube will behave under > pressure. Having said that, I think that for a 'best of x' > competition (like the 1st two rounds in Toronto) we do not need to > allow pops. But for a competition based on averages every hundredth > of a second counts. And although I see the benefits of not allowing > pops, I think we should still allow one pop. > > 8) allow rolling* averages [this is because otherwise you would be > lucky if an average run would start at the 'best' moment] > COMMENT: do not allow rolling averages. At a real competition you > wouldn't be able to tell the officials to disregard your first few > recorded attempts because you were not warmed up yet. > MY PROPOSAL: I think your personal best average should not be > dependent on the lucky moment where you decided to say: "now I start > my average run" and it turned out to be the best moment to start it. > > 9) allow lucky cases [this is because you can also be lucky in a > competition] > NO COMMENTS. > > 10) take average of 12 attempts: remove best and worst attempt, take > average of the remaining 10 attempts > COMMENT: solving 12 cubes in a competition will be time consuming. > In Toronto we solved 5 cubes. > MY PROPOSAL: 12 cubes is a beautiful number (leaving 10 counted > cubes) and it is a good number to prevent too much luck in an > average record. For competitions I think we could stick to 5 cubes. > > I also received a comment about good light. I absolutely agree with > this, the light in Toronto was not good enough. But I think it > should not be part of the rules. > > These rules imply that we need a good program to facilitate us > (random scrambles, limited preinspection, timer to start, timer to > end, compute averages). Jess Bonde's timer program is a very good > start. His program needs some slight changes to deal with rules 2 to > 6. I already asked Jess to make a new version of his program. > > Please post your comments on this club, or send me an e-mail. > > Don't forget that these rules are the rules for UWR. We prefer to > have the same rules for UWR as for official competitions. We cannot > make the official rules. We can propose official rules to the RCC > (see http://www.rubikschamps.com). > > Have fun, > > Ron > http://www.speedcubing.com > "Do not take speedcubing too seriously"

I never understood how it worked either. Supposedly it's effective, however.

The thing that I find not so good in this method is when you got to hit the spacebar with both youre hands. This means you has to allmost "trow" the cube to be able to hit it as fast as possible. And I dont want to threat my cube that way. ----------------------------------------------------------------- --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Ron" <rvb@c...> wrote: > Hi friends, > > As you may have noticed we are creating a new category for 3x3x3 > average records (other categories may follow) in the Unofficial > World Records. With this new category we want to have a more > standardized way of measuring averages, so that we can better > compare. > > Please check out the proposed new rules at: > http://www.speedcubing.com/records/records- rules.html#officialrules > (item 11) > Before I proposed these new rules I already discussed them with some > of the fast guys around. > > At the moment I received the following change requests from some of > our respected friends: > > 1) use computer generated random scrambles of 25 moves (face turn > metrics) > COMMENT: Add metrics system. > MY PROPOSAL: Face turn metrics. > > 2) allow 15 seconds (or less) preinspection > NO COMMENTS. > > 3) use speedstack timer, home-built timer or timer program on > computer, measuring hundredths of a second > NO COMMENTS. > > 4) place cube on the timer or table (not in the hands) > COMMENT: we should hide the cube (like behind a paper) > MY PROPOSAL: I think hiding the cube (which they also did in > Toronto) is not necessary, as long as you do not wait more than 5 > seconds after preinspection, before starting to solve. > > 5) start timer when the hands leave the timer (so not when the > countdown is finished, because then people could cheat a bit of time > picking up early) > COMMENT: it would be better to start the time when the cube leaves > the table. > MY PROPOSAL: I agree that this would be better. But for stopping the > timer it is better to not stop when the cube touches the timer, > because then you could you still do moves when you already stopped > the timer (this is what actually happened in Budapest 1982). To be > more consequent and to copy the way of timing in Toronto 2003, I > think starting with the hands is better. > > 6) stop timer, after solving, with the hands on the speedstack > timer, or with both hands on the keyboard/timer pad > COMMENT: same as for 5. > COMMENT: If you use a keyboard, then you cannot check whether both > hands touched the keyboard. > MY PROPOSAL: Still I think this is a better procedure, because it > prevents you from unintentionally stopping the timer while still > doing moves with your other hand. > > 7) allow 1 puzzle defect (POP) in an average run (replace it by > extra 13th attempt) > COMMENT: do not allow a pop: this makes it clearer, this prevents > cheating, there is no competition where you are allowed an extra > attempt for a specific defect (like a broken string of a tennis > racket) > MY PROPOSAL: Since people can use their own cubes, they are also > responsible for the quality of their cubes. But in the heat of a > competition it is very hard to solve like you would do at home on > the sofa. It is unpredictable how your cube will behave under > pressure. Having said that, I think that for a 'best of x' > competition (like the 1st two rounds in Toronto) we do not need to > allow pops. But for a competition based on averages every hundredth > of a second counts. And although I see the benefits of not allowing > pops, I think we should still allow one pop. > > 8) allow rolling* averages [this is because otherwise you would be > lucky if an average run would start at the 'best' moment] > COMMENT: do not allow rolling averages. At a real competition you > wouldn't be able to tell the officials to disregard your first few > recorded attempts because you were not warmed up yet. > MY PROPOSAL: I think your personal best average should not be > dependent on the lucky moment where you decided to say: "now I start > my average run" and it turned out to be the best moment to start it. > > 9) allow lucky cases [this is because you can also be lucky in a > competition] > NO COMMENTS. > > 10) take average of 12 attempts: remove best and worst attempt, take > average of the remaining 10 attempts > COMMENT: solving 12 cubes in a competition will be time consuming. > In Toronto we solved 5 cubes. > MY PROPOSAL: 12 cubes is a beautiful number (leaving 10 counted > cubes) and it is a good number to prevent too much luck in an > average record. For competitions I think we could stick to 5 cubes. > > I also received a comment about good light. I absolutely agree with > this, the light in Toronto was not good enough. But I think it > should not be part of the rules. > > These rules imply that we need a good program to facilitate us > (random scrambles, limited preinspection, timer to start, timer to > end, compute averages). Jess Bonde's timer program is a very good > start. His program needs some slight changes to deal with rules 2 to > 6. I already asked Jess to make a new version of his program. > > Please post your comments on this club, or send me an e-mail. > > Don't forget that these rules are the rules for UWR. We prefer to > have the same rules for UWR as for official competitions. We cannot > make the official rules. We can propose official rules to the RCC > (see http://www.rubikschamps.com). > > Have fun, > > Ron > http://www.speedcubing.com > "Do not take speedcubing too seriously"

But how does it do this without screwing up the position and orientation of everything else? And how does he do it after only looking at the cube for a short amount of time? He said it was a matter of seconds?

Hi all... > 1) use computer generated random scrambles of 25 moves (face turn > metrics) Did anyone write a scrambler that results in a random scrambled *state* rather than in a random scrambling *algorithm*? I.e. it randomly generates a scrambled state and then finds a scrambling algorithm to reach it, for example with Kociemba's cube solver. I'd say this is even "better randomness" but it usually takes *less* than 25 moves... > 6) stop timer, after solving, with the hands on the speedstack > timer, or with both hands on the keyboard/timer pad Oh boy am I happy to have a stackmat. Earlier I tried the computer to stop the time but I wasted time by hitting the spacebar and hitting it softly (I will not hit my laptop hard). > "Do not take speedcubing too seriously" I don't. I can't. It's impossible :-) Stefan

Amazing the 5x5x5 aluminium version! Even the big wooden prototype is impressive. As a collector and puzzler builder I like to know, how may copies where made? Ton --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, rubiks99ca <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Scoop BIG CUBE 5x5x5 aluminium ! > > I upgrate my web site > > Honnor Fridrich > > Congradulation Mirek Goljan and more ! > > Inventor 5x5x5 . The cube is smoooth, excellent mecanism and very > long life same plastic version. Inventor News paper. The first > cubist look the cube is Akimoto. First réaction of champion"I try > it Gaétan". I had a video for you Akimoto and Ton. > > > Function corner. My presonnel experience with the corner. 20 years > ago ! easy, original and beautifull for me. > > News paper Dan Knights, congradulation Dan ! self body controll of > champion ! > > Ron is expert too & very good challenger for the cubist. > > Still & still my video, cube, Unofficial or official he's unique, > ramdom state illusion, blindfold, behind back and fast in the > public. The total visual art on the stage for me ! > > > http://www.rubikscuberecord.com./ > > Cool ! > Peace > Happy fun cube > Happy new year later > > Gaétan > > P.S Shotaro Makisumi Tu es un vrai cubiste et un vrai jongleur. > J'imagine échanger des cubes et jongler avec toi au dessus de la > tête du super Criss Hardwick pendant qu'il fait son cube d'une seule > main. Mon meilleur est de multiplier des gros nombres choisi au > hasard et un cube mélangé que je connais pas. Je le fais sans > attendre et en même temps en moins de 30 secondes sans magie. > Blindfold avec les nombres mais pas le cube :)) Toi ta place est > dans un championnat ! Que feras tu à 20 ans ?!! Your friend, > Katsuyuki Konishi is very hot speed with the rubik's cube:).

With the way my computer is set up (and probably some other ppl too) the keyboard is right in front of the monitor. I don't want to risk hurting the cube by throwing it, (going to stop the timer) hiting the monitor, or accidentally pressing another key when i drop the cube which (with current timers) could accidentally reset the timer. It would almost be required for me to set the cube down next to the monitor then reach back over to stop the timer (which would take way to long). I am all for the rolling averages. The UWR (to my understanding) are for speedcubers to compare their times with other cubers. If rolling averages were banned, we would have to be lucky for our best times to go up, and there are strict rules against "lucky" times. About the lucky times included in averages...I think one lucky time should be allowed, but further times should be discarded. This is because one time is discarded to help account for luck, (and another dropped for anti-luck) but if there were more than one lucky time, it would skew your average. I average around 40-45 seconds on the cube now, but with luck I have gotten a few 20 second times. I'm sure you can see how that could throw off an average... Just my thoughts happy cubing -Andy wolfheat16 <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: The thing that I find not so good in this method is when you got to hit the spacebar with both youre hands. This means you has to allmost "trow" the cube to be able to hit it as fast as possible. And I dont want to threat my cube that way. ----------------------------------------------------------------- --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Ron" <rvb@c...> wrote: > Hi friends, > > As you may have noticed we are creating a new category for 3x3x3 > average records (other categories may follow) in the Unofficial > World Records. With this new category we want to have a more > standardized way of measuring averages, so that we can better > compare. > > Please check out the proposed new rules at: > http://www.speedcubing.com/records/records- rules.html#officialrules > (item 11) > Before I proposed these new rules I already discussed them with some > of the fast guys around. > > At the moment I received the following change requests from some of > our respected friends: > > 1) use computer generated random scrambles of 25 moves (face turn > metrics) > COMMENT: Add metrics system. > MY PROPOSAL: Face turn metrics. > > 2) allow 15 seconds (or less) preinspection > NO COMMENTS. > > 3) use speedstack timer, home-built timer or timer program on > computer, measuring hundredths of a second > NO COMMENTS. > > 4) place cube on the timer or table (not in the hands) > COMMENT: we should hide the cube (like behind a paper) > MY PROPOSAL: I think hiding the cube (which they also did in > Toronto) is not necessary, as long as you do not wait more than 5 > seconds after preinspection, before starting to solve. > > 5) start timer when the hands leave the timer (so not when the > countdown is finished, because then people could cheat a bit of time > picking up early) > COMMENT: it would be better to start the time when the cube leaves > the table. > MY PROPOSAL: I agree that this would be better. But for stopping the > timer it is better to not stop when the cube touches the timer, > because then you could you still do moves when you already stopped > the timer (this is what actually happened in Budapest 1982). To be > more consequent and to copy the way of timing in Toronto 2003, I > think starting with the hands is better. > > 6) stop timer, after solving, with the hands on the speedstack > timer, or with both hands on the keyboard/timer pad > COMMENT: same as for 5. > COMMENT: If you use a keyboard, then you cannot check whether both > hands touched the keyboard. > MY PROPOSAL: Still I think this is a better procedure, because it > prevents you from unintentionally stopping the timer while still > doing moves with your other hand. > > 7) allow 1 puzzle defect (POP) in an average run (replace it by > extra 13th attempt) > COMMENT: do not allow a pop: this makes it clearer, this prevents > cheating, there is no competition where you are allowed an extra > attempt for a specific defect (like a broken string of a tennis > racket) > MY PROPOSAL: Since people can use their own cubes, they are also > responsible for the quality of their cubes. But in the heat of a > competition it is very hard to solve like you would do at home on > the sofa. It is unpredictable how your cube will behave under > pressure. Having said that, I think that for a 'best of x' > competition (like the 1st two rounds in Toronto) we do not need to > allow pops. But for a competition based on averages every hundredth > of a second counts. And although I see the benefits of not allowing > pops, I think we should still allow one pop. > > 8) allow rolling* averages [this is because otherwise you would be > lucky if an average run would start at the 'best' moment] > COMMENT: do not allow rolling averages. At a real competition you > wouldn't be able to tell the officials to disregard your first few > recorded attempts because you were not warmed up yet. > MY PROPOSAL: I think your personal best average should not be > dependent on the lucky moment where you decided to say: "now I start > my average run" and it turned out to be the best moment to start it. > > 9) allow lucky cases [this is because you can also be lucky in a > competition] > NO COMMENTS. > > 10) take average of 12 attempts: remove best and worst attempt, take > average of the remaining 10 attempts > COMMENT: solving 12 cubes in a competition will be time consuming. > In Toronto we solved 5 cubes. > MY PROPOSAL: 12 cubes is a beautiful number (leaving 10 counted > cubes) and it is a good number to prevent too much luck in an > average record. For competitions I think we could stick to 5 cubes. > > I also received a comment about good light. I absolutely agree with > this, the light in Toronto was not good enough. But I think it > should not be part of the rules. > > These rules imply that we need a good program to facilitate us > (random scrambles, limited preinspection, timer to start, timer to > end, compute averages). Jess Bonde's timer program is a very good > start. His program needs some slight changes to deal with rules 2 to > 6. I already asked Jess to make a new version of his program. > > Please post your comments on this club, or send me an e-mail. > > Don't forget that these rules are the rules for UWR. We prefer to > have the same rules for UWR as for official competitions. We cannot > make the official rules. We can propose official rules to the RCC > (see http://www.rubikschamps.com). > > Have fun, > > Ron > http://www.speedcubing.com > "Do not take speedcubing too seriously" --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Ton Many thanks for the advice, after I played with it for a while, the center caps were fine, and after lubing the cube, it moves *great*. It moves much smoother than my 3x3x3 ever has. I couldn't be happier (well I could be, but it wouldnt have anything to do with the cube :-) ). Doug On Sun, 2004-01-04 at 23:54, turnthatcube wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Doug Reed > <dougreed@h...> wrote: > > Hey all > > > > I just got my 5x5x5 Mini-Cube today from Mefferts. I like it a > lot. It > > is kind of stiff, and I was just wondering, has anyone had any > trouble > > lubing one? I am assuming it is mechanically identical to a regular > > 5x5x5, which means it would probably be safe, I just don't want my > > stickers to start falling off or other weird things to happen =) > > > > Also, the white and red center peices fall off from time to time, is > > there any way to secure them? I imagine superglue would work, but > then > > I wouldn't be able to get to those ever-important screws :) > > > > Doug > > Hi Doug > > Lube will help, you can adjust the screws, however they need to be > tight. The cube is a totaly other mechanism as the Rubik's.com cube. > > For the centercap, make little dents on the side of the cap this > wshould fix the center without glue. > > Ton > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

Hi everybody, I set up a new domain name for my cube page. The new URL is much easier to remember now: http://andyscubepage.tk The old URL still works but "andyscubepage" is easier to type and remember. Andy

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, kyuubree <no_reply@y...> wrote: > But how does it do this without screwing up the position and > orientation of everything else? And how does he do it after only > looking at the cube for a short amount of time? He said it was a > matter of seconds? If you are talking about speed solving, then there is nothing to mess up. It is a corners first solution, so you can disregard the position and orientation of all edges (and centers)while solving the corners. Once your corners are set, then you can wory about solving your edges. Once you have your 3 corners set on the bottom face (0-2 moves), the U layer corner patterns are easy to recognize. 8/16 cases need 3 moves to orient the corners. 4/16 cases need 4 moves. 2/16 need 5 moves. 2/16 need 6 moves. the next step is to separate the U corners from the D corners, then you permute all the corners at once. The first step really doesn't require much time to figure out your first moves. The second step only has 3 algs. The final step to solve the corners only has 5 algs. so you get a relatively fast start, and don't really require much inspection to get started. Lucas

I was referring to his blindfold method in which doing such a method would screw with the edges and thus it would need to be considered

Ron, Great work. While there are a couple of small points I'd like to chime in on, I definitely want to start by applauding your efforts to bring a more standardized approach to the way we keep records. It's particularly helpful to have these guidelines since most of us are doing all our own setup and timing, and could use the guidance. Here are my comments: Piece pops: I agree with the line of thinking that we should not allow an additional attempt if a piece pops out. The reasons you list against the extra attempt, such as that it prevents cheating, and that no other competition allows an extra attempt, are good ones, and I would add one other. The potential for a piece popping out is just one of a number of things that is remedied by being able to throw out an extra attempt. Different speedcubers have different styles. One person goes fast and occasionally pops a piece. One person slows down a little to avoid chronic piece pops but as a result ends up with slightly slower times. On person is recklessly fast but sometimes they end up screwing up a solve completely and recording a ridiculously slow time. Each of these types of people has reasons to want to throw out their worst attempt. Why should the person in the first case get to throw out up to two attempts (the pop and then the slowest non-pop time) while the others only get to throw out one attempt? If you want to have people be able to throw out a pop and a slow time, then do an average of 13 and let EVERYBODY throw out their worst two attempts, regardless of whether the attempt involves the cube coming apart, the solver forgetting an algorithm, or just that they were going deliberately slow and ended up with one or two slower than desired times. I can see people wanting the extra attempt because it results in faster times, but other than that there's really no strong case for allowing it. Stopping the timer: I noticed when I was timing myself on a computer that I had a tendency to hit the spacebar to stop the clock as I was setting down the cube. I suppose that might shave off a few hundredths if I'm turning off the timer before the cube hits the table. I like the idea Grant suggested in his reply to your email... that the timer should be stopped by the last hand that touched the cube after solving it, to ensure that you've actually set the cube down before stopping the timer. Rolling averages vs planned start: In most competitions you can warm up all you want but you have to decide ahead of time that you're doing the official time trial, or long jump, or high jump, or whatever, if you want it to count. You can't decide after a performance whether it was warmup or actual competition. The only case I could make for doing this would be that it would (obviously) yield slightly faster times, but I think the goal of what you're trying to do here isn't to improve the speed of the scores that speedcubers submit, but rather to improve the credibility and integrity of those scores. Thanks again, Adam --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Ron" <rvb@c...> wrote: > Hi friends, > > As you may have noticed we are creating a new category for 3x3x3 > average records (other categories may follow) in the Unofficial > World Records. With this new category we want to have a more > standardized way of measuring averages, so that we can better > compare. > > Please check out the proposed new rules at: > http://www.speedcubing.com/records/records-rules.html#officialrules > (item 11) > Before I proposed these new rules I already discussed them with some > of the fast guys around. > > At the moment I received the following change requests from some of > our respected friends: > > 1) use computer generated random scrambles of 25 moves (face turn > metrics) > COMMENT: Add metrics system. > MY PROPOSAL: Face turn metrics. > > 2) allow 15 seconds (or less) preinspection > NO COMMENTS. > > 3) use speedstack timer, home-built timer or timer program on > computer, measuring hundredths of a second > NO COMMENTS. > > 4) place cube on the timer or table (not in the hands) > COMMENT: we should hide the cube (like behind a paper) > MY PROPOSAL: I think hiding the cube (which they also did in > Toronto) is not necessary, as long as you do not wait more than 5 > seconds after preinspection, before starting to solve. > > 5) start timer when the hands leave the timer (so not when the > countdown is finished, because then people could cheat a bit of time > picking up early) > COMMENT: it would be better to start the time when the cube leaves > the table. > MY PROPOSAL: I agree that this would be better. But for stopping the > timer it is better to not stop when the cube touches the timer, > because then you could you still do moves when you already stopped > the timer (this is what actually happened in Budapest 1982). To be > more consequent and to copy the way of timing in Toronto 2003, I > think starting with the hands is better. > > 6) stop timer, after solving, with the hands on the speedstack > timer, or with both hands on the keyboard/timer pad > COMMENT: same as for 5. > COMMENT: If you use a keyboard, then you cannot check whether both > hands touched the keyboard. > MY PROPOSAL: Still I think this is a better procedure, because it > prevents you from unintentionally stopping the timer while still > doing moves with your other hand. > > 7) allow 1 puzzle defect (POP) in an average run (replace it by > extra 13th attempt) > COMMENT: do not allow a pop: this makes it clearer, this prevents > cheating, there is no competition where you are allowed an extra > attempt for a specific defect (like a broken string of a tennis > racket) > MY PROPOSAL: Since people can use their own cubes, they are also > responsible for the quality of their cubes. But in the heat of a > competition it is very hard to solve like you would do at home on > the sofa. It is unpredictable how your cube will behave under > pressure. Having said that, I think that for a 'best of x' > competition (like the 1st two rounds in Toronto) we do not need to > allow pops. But for a competition based on averages every hundredth > of a second counts. And although I see the benefits of not allowing > pops, I think we should still allow one pop. > > 8) allow rolling* averages [this is because otherwise you would be > lucky if an average run would start at the 'best' moment] > COMMENT: do not allow rolling averages. At a real competition you > wouldn't be able to tell the officials to disregard your first few > recorded attempts because you were not warmed up yet. > MY PROPOSAL: I think your personal best average should not be > dependent on the lucky moment where you decided to say: "now I start > my average run" and it turned out to be the best moment to start it. > > 9) allow lucky cases [this is because you can also be lucky in a > competition] > NO COMMENTS. > > 10) take average of 12 attempts: remove best and worst attempt, take > average of the remaining 10 attempts > COMMENT: solving 12 cubes in a competition will be time consuming. > In Toronto we solved 5 cubes. > MY PROPOSAL: 12 cubes is a beautiful number (leaving 10 counted > cubes) and it is a good number to prevent too much luck in an > average record. For competitions I think we could stick to 5 cubes. > > I also received a comment about good light. I absolutely agree with > this, the light in Toronto was not good enough. But I think it > should not be part of the rules. > > These rules imply that we need a good program to facilitate us > (random scrambles, limited preinspection, timer to start, timer to > end, compute averages). Jess Bonde's timer program is a very good > start. His program needs some slight changes to deal with rules 2 to > 6. I already asked Jess to make a new version of his program. > > Please post your comments on this club, or send me an e-mail. > > Don't forget that these rules are the rules for UWR. We prefer to > have the same rules for UWR as for official competitions. We cannot > make the official rules. We can propose official rules to the RCC > (see http://www.rubikschamps.com). > > Have fun, > > Ron > http://www.speedcubing.com > "Do not take speedcubing too seriously"

Hey all, Just wanted to apoligize for the lack of a sunday contest this last week and for the delay in posting the last competitions' results. I was moving, and so I was without internet access. I just wanted to assure you that there will be another contest this coming weekend. Hope to see everyone compete. Frank

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, kyuubree <no_reply@y...> wrote: > I was referring to his blindfold method in which doing such a method > would screw with the edges and thus it would need to be considered The behind the back solves look impressive, but unless I see the feat done in person, with a 3rd party scrambling an unfamiliar cube (to avoid tactile cues from a familiar cube), I cannot dismiss the possiblity that the feat is done with a pre set cube. There was some magician at the RWC who had a "mixed" cube and had this trick where he asked me to do one more turn on the cube and hand it back to him. He then asked me to pick a number, then proceeded to do a behind the back "solve" of the cube in the same number of turns as the number I picked. Impressive? Yes and no. The odd magician guy at the RWC pretty much unscrambled the cube rather than solving it in a step by step manner. I would guess that he has a rehearsed unscrambling alg of a fixed number of moves, and a few holding pattern algs that he can insert so that his total number of moves equaled my given number. How do I know that he unscrambled the cube rather than solve it? First of all, his cube was in horrendous condition, and felt like it was lubed with pine tar. No self respecting cuber would stand for using a crap cube like that. Secondly, There was no solving method apparent. The cube was mixed then it was solved. No F2L, No layer by layer, no Petrus, no corners first. I should have had him attempt a regular solve on a real cube to confirm that the guy probably doesn't know how to even solve the cube. Gaetan is actually solving the cube behind his back, and doing so rather skillfuly. This is impressive even if it is rehearsed. On the other hand, if the feat is real and unrehearsed, then there is no actual reason for anyone else to actually work on blindfold solves, as it would be futile to try to do better than Gaetan. I understand that blindfold solving entails memorizing the position and orientation of every cubie, executing a step, then reassessing and memorizing the O/P of the cubies, doing another small step that affects only a few cubies, reassessing and memorizing, and so on. Looking at Gaetan's videos, I see no evidence of this process. It looks a lot to me like a straight solve.

I started to use rolling averages recently not mainly because of faster times. Of course I am after faster times but I do it to have an easier life. Often I started a "planned" average and after a few attempts I saw that it would end very bad unless I would do the remaining solves *very* fast. But then I should better "declare" the average finished and not really finish it, instead start a new "planned" average (possibly beginning with those hopefully very fast times). But I worried whether it's legitimate to truncate averages this way. Well, I had the excuse "I could just as well pop it intentionally twice to make the average invalid and that would be a real reason to discontinue". But that's not nice. Also, I saw DanK's quote: "I got the 14, popped a piece on the second solution, decided to start a new average, then got a 16, and decided to keep going with this average." I think that's not nice either but I can very well understand him. So to end all this damn discussion in my head and stop worrying about it I decided that I would switch to rolling averages. So, only indirectly to get faster times. Stefan > Rolling averages vs planned start: In most competitions you can warm > up all you want but you have to decide ahead of time that you're > doing the official time trial, or long jump, or high jump, or > whatever, if you want it to count. You can't decide after a > performance whether it was warmup or actual competition. The only > case I could make for doing this would be that it would (obviously) > yield slightly faster times, but I think the goal of what you're > trying to do here isn't to improve the speed of the scores that > speedcubers submit, but rather to improve the credibility and > integrity of those scores.

Looks like people got their puzzles and the problem is solved, but since I promised to report: I ordered seven or eight puzzles together with six free keychain ones (thanks to their Xmas special) on December 29th. They had some questions before they sent it out but I answered on December 30th and they said they'd send it away the same day. I asked for a tracking number and was told they'd give it to me (they haven't so far but they had already warned me they'd be in holidays for a few days). Well, today I received the puzzles and everything looks good (as far as I can tell, didn't have more than two minutes to look inside the box before leaving home). Well, the Pyramorphix looked kind of strange but that's kinda expected ;-) So, overall I'm very happy getting the puzzles a week after ordering them, especially considering the time of the year... Stefan --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > You call that lucky? ;-) > > About three months ago I got some puzzles five days after ordering > them, including a weekend :-) Maybe it's easier to ship to Germany? > I just ordered a couple more puzzles, will let you know what > happens... > > Cheers! > Stefan > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, jasmine_ellen > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > I must have been lucky with my Mefferts order last year. I used > the > > free shipping option when I bought a pile of puzzles (5x5x5, > 4x4x4, > > 3x3x3 + megaminx). The package was delivered to me in Australia in > 2 > > weeks. > > > > Jasmine. > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Grant Tregay" > > <Grant@T...> wrote: > > > --- Doug Reed wrote: > > > > I ordered a 5x5x5 and a Skewb keychain from Meffert's via > Paypal > > 9 > > > > days before Christmas Day, and I still have not gotten it. Has > > > > anybody on this list in Texas previously ordered from > Mefferts? > > I > > > > am curious as to how long it should take, it seems like 13 > days+ > > > > days has been long enough :-\ > > > > > > > > Doug > > > > > > Seeing as they don't charge for shipping (last I knew), it's not > > > surprising that they ship using cheap means (which also means > > slow). > > > I needed something quickly before the WC in August, so I payed > for > > > the expensive shipping, and got it in just a couple of days. If > > you > > > go with the free shipping option, I would expect it to take at > > least > > > 2-4 weeks, if not as much as 6.. unfortunately :-( > > > > > > - Grant

Last night I dreamt that a new puzzle shop opened near where I live. It was a pretty small store, but it had an amazing collection of puzzles. It had lots of 3x3x3 cubes (picture cubes, different colours, sparkly stickers, etc.), and 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 (which currently aren't available in any of the Canberra puzzles stores). There were also a bunch of puzzles that I'd never seen before. There were so many puzzles that I remember taking several trips to the cashier with armfuls of puzzles (there were so many I couldn't carry them all at once!) :) Jasmine.

I've also dreamed about puzzle shops lately, but they weren't as cool as yours. Now let's hope you have parapsychological powers and your store really exists! Try dreaming of your way home next time, then take the inverse way to get there in real life! ;-) Stefan --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, jasmine_ellen <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Last night I dreamt that a new puzzle shop opened near where I live. > It was a pretty small store, but it had an amazing collection of > puzzles. It had lots of 3x3x3 cubes (picture cubes, different > colours, sparkly stickers, etc.), and 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 (which > currently aren't available in any of the Canberra puzzles stores). > There were also a bunch of puzzles that I'd never seen before. There > were so many puzzles that I remember taking several trips to the > cashier with armfuls of puzzles (there were so many I couldn't carry > them all at once!) :) > > Jasmine.

> Try dreaming of your way home next time, then > take the inverse way to get there in real life! ;-) Uh, better *walk* home for that or at least don't drive one-way streets. Forgive me, I don't have a car and thus don't think about issues like that. Stefan

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, jasmine_ellen <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Last night I dreamt that a new puzzle shop opened near where I live. > It was a pretty small store, but it had an amazing collection of > puzzles. It had lots of 3x3x3 cubes (picture cubes, different > colours, sparkly stickers, etc.), and 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 (which > currently aren't available in any of the Canberra puzzles stores). > There were also a bunch of puzzles that I'd never seen before. There > were so many puzzles that I remember taking several trips to the > cashier with armfuls of puzzles (there were so many I couldn't carry > them all at once!) :) > > Jasmine. Hi Jasmine, Is there anything stopping you from opening and running such a store? You already know what it looks like and what puzzles it sells. David J

i wonder how many of us have had "this" dream... i've had a dream or two about stumbling into a "secret" puzzle shop...usually it's hidden in the back of some place that i've known about for years, but then i move a few boxes, or find a well-hidden door, and there it is...a mecca of all the puzzles we search for. another variation, is finding boxes of old and forgotten about stock from the 80's in some old store or shop that hardly anyone goes to anymore. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, jasmine_ellen <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Last night I dreamt that a new puzzle shop opened near where I live. > It was a pretty small store, but it had an amazing collection of > puzzles. It had lots of 3x3x3 cubes (picture cubes, different > colours, sparkly stickers, etc.), and 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 (which > currently aren't available in any of the Canberra puzzles stores). > There were also a bunch of puzzles that I'd never seen before. There > were so many puzzles that I remember taking several trips to the > cashier with armfuls of puzzles (there were so many I couldn't carry > them all at once!) :) > > Jasmine.

I still havent gotten my Skewb keychain, and I havent been able to get ahold of them via email... I am eager to get my hands on a skewb, for the sole purpose of seeing how it turns, but so far, no luck :( Doug On Wed, 2004-01-07 at 09:25, Stefan Pochmann wrote: > Looks like people got their puzzles and the problem is solved, but > since I promised to report: I ordered seven or eight puzzles together > with six free keychain ones (thanks to their Xmas special) on December > 29th. They had some questions before they sent it out but I answered > on December 30th and they said they'd send it away the same day. I > asked for a tracking number and was told they'd give it to me (they > haven't so far but they had already warned me they'd be in holidays > for a few days). Well, today I received the puzzles and everything > looks good (as far as I can tell, didn't have more than two minutes to > look inside the box before leaving home). Well, the Pyramorphix looked > kind of strange but that's kinda expected ;-) > > So, overall I'm very happy getting the puzzles a week after ordering > them, especially considering the time of the year... > > Stefan > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" > <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > You call that lucky? ;-) > > > > About three months ago I got some puzzles five days after ordering > > them, including a weekend :-) Maybe it's easier to ship to Germany? > > I just ordered a couple more puzzles, will let you know what > > happens... > > > > Cheers! > > Stefan > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, jasmine_ellen > > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > > I must have been lucky with my Mefferts order last year. I used > > the > > > free shipping option when I bought a pile of puzzles (5x5x5, > > 4x4x4, > > > 3x3x3 + megaminx). The package was delivered to me in Australia in > > 2 > > > weeks. > > > > > > Jasmine. > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Grant Tregay" > > > <Grant@T...> wrote: > > > > --- Doug Reed wrote: > > > > > I ordered a 5x5x5 and a Skewb keychain from Meffert's via > > Paypal > > > 9 > > > > > days before Christmas Day, and I still have not gotten it. > Has > > > > > anybody on this list in Texas previously ordered from > > Mefferts? > > > I > > > > > am curious as to how long it should take, it seems like 13 > > days+ > > > > > days has been long enough :-\ > > > > > > > > > > Doug > > > > > > > > Seeing as they don't charge for shipping (last I knew), it's not > > > > surprising that they ship using cheap means (which also means > > > slow). > > > > I needed something quickly before the WC in August, so I payed > > for > > > > the expensive shipping, and got it in just a couple of days. If > > > you > > > > go with the free shipping option, I would expect it to take at > > > least > > > > 2-4 weeks, if not as much as 6.. unfortunately :-( > > > > > > > > - Grant > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

I was just about to send my input by replying to this topic, but i read adam's reply first. That is almost exactly was I was going to type. Obviously, not allowing an extra solve for a piece pop is more fair. I used to pop my cube quite frequently but then I've began to slow down, learn better finger tricks that cause pops less frequently and tighten my cube a little. I'm for not allowing a 13th solve, but that's just me. I realize many will be against this, but this isnt all that big of a deal to me. The thing that I feel more strongly about is the rolling averages. Adam's example of choosing if a solve is warm-up or competition is perfect. You shouldn't be able to do that. The goal of taking averages is not to get your best times on one single average (thus making your best average). It is to bring all of your times down. An average of your times should reflect an average solve for you. Not a fortunate occurrance of your best solves. Anyway, I agree with the other rules though, I think it is a good idea to have all posters post by these to make things more fair. -ferret

I was reading Chris Hardwicks' tips on how to get faster and I noticed that one of them is to do the cross on the bottom. I've heard many times before, but I find it awkward to do. For some reason having the first layer on the bottom makes it difficult for me to "triggerize" the cross (or part of it) in my head during the 15 seconds of preinspection time. I hold it with the cross layer at about 45 degrees between full vertical and my left. When I tried it with the cross down I noticed that I was able to follow the last layer corner pieces a little better. Is this the only reason why it's recommended to hold the cross on the bottom, or are there other benefits? I'd like to know where most people hold the cross and why they do it that way. - Raul

I hold it on the bottom, reason being is it is generally easier too see your next move because all the need pieces are in plain sight it basically follows "out of sight out of mind" don't need too see the cross once it is done.. but you can still get really good times with cross on top or side as Jessica fririch and JOn morris can atest too --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Raul" <topgunryu@y...> wrote: > I was reading Chris Hardwicks' tips on how to get faster and I > noticed that one of them is to do the cross on the bottom. I've > heard many times before, but I find it awkward to do. For some > reason having the first layer on the bottom makes it difficult for > me to "triggerize" the cross (or part of it) in my head during the > 15 seconds of preinspection time. > > I hold it with the cross layer at about 45 degrees between full > vertical and my left. When I tried it with the cross down I noticed > that I was able to follow the last layer corner pieces a little > better. Is this the only reason why it's recommended to hold the > cross on the bottom, or are there other benefits? I'd like to know > where most people hold the cross and why they do it that way. > > - Raul

>Stopping the timer: I noticed when I was timing myself on a >computer that I had a tendency to hit the spacebar to stop the >clock as I was setting down the cube. I suppose that might shave >off a few hundredths if I'm turning off the timer before the cube >hits the >table. I like the idea Grant suggested in his reply to your >email... that the timer should be stopped by the last hand that >touched the cube after solving it, to ensure that you've actually >set the cube down before stopping the timer. Actually, when I first read Grant's idea of touching the spacebar with the hand that last touched the cube I had a slightly different idea in my head. To me, stopping the timer has nothing to do with the cube resting on a table, but rather with me finishing my last turn. What I've begun do is hit the spacebar with the last hand that was actively turning the cube, since it's not always the same one. Seems to me like that is enough to ensure that I'm done solving. I dont see why the cube must be set down. I'm guessing the reason why people did that at the championships is because they had to use both hands to stop the Stackmat timer. - Raul

Hi Guys, People coordinate themselves differently, and have different ways of timing. The important things are that the timer doesn't start after the solve has begun and that the timer is not stopped before the solve is finished. I think that if someone is timing themselaves at home any means of accomplishing that should be fine. Regards, David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "rubikscanada" <rubikscanada@y...> wrote: > I hold it on the bottom, reason being is it is generally easier too > see your next move because all the need pieces are in plain sight > > it basically follows "out of sight out of mind" don't need too see > the cross once it is done.. > > but you can still get really good times with cross on top or side as > Jessica fririch and JOn morris can atest too > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Raul" > <topgunryu@y...> wrote: > > I was reading Chris Hardwicks' tips on how to get faster and I > > noticed that one of them is to do the cross on the bottom. I've > > heard many times before, but I find it awkward to do. For some > > reason having the first layer on the bottom makes it difficult for > > me to "triggerize" the cross (or part of it) in my head during the > > 15 seconds of preinspection time. > > > > I hold it with the cross layer at about 45 degrees between full > > vertical and my left. When I tried it with the cross down I > noticed > > that I was able to follow the last layer corner pieces a little > > better. Is this the only reason why it's recommended to hold the > > cross on the bottom, or are there other benefits? I'd like to know > > where most people hold the cross and why they do it that way. > > > > - Raul

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "rubikscanada" <rubikscanada@y...> wrote: > I hold it on the bottom, reason being is it is generally easier too > see your next move because all the need pieces are in plain sight > it basically follows "out of sight out of mind" don't need too see > the cross once it is done.. > but you can still get really good times with cross on top or side as > Jessica fririch and JOn morris can atest too Don't forget Jess Bonde, the official world record holder. He does cross on left as Jessica does. I solve cross on bottom. Masayuki Akimoto

Hi I finally solved 3x3 in blidfold manner. It is so cool. Thanks Rob, Ron, and Macky for inspiration. It took several months to be ready for 3x3. I have always tried just 2x2. My time is now 2-3 min unless too lucky. (Not 100% success) Before I start 3x3, I took notes for memorization and record. And after I did, I realized it is much easier for memrization if I take notes. I think just for blindfold solving, taking notes must be allowed. But for speed, it may not be allowed. Am I right? Masayuki Akimoto

What method did you use? I've been interested in blindfolded solving for a while, but I haven't gotten into it yet. I would definitely like to start trying though. Doug On Wed, 2004-01-07 at 20:06, makimoto2000us wrote: > Hi > > I finally solved 3x3 in blidfold manner. > It is so cool. > Thanks Rob, Ron, and Macky for inspiration. > > It took several months to be ready for 3x3. > I have always tried just 2x2. My time is now 2-3 min unless too > lucky. (Not 100% success) > > Before I start 3x3, I took notes for memorization and record. > And after I did, I realized it is much easier for memrization if I > take notes. > I think just for blindfold solving, taking notes must be allowed. > But for speed, it may not be allowed. > > Am I right? > > Masayuki Akimoto > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

Hi Doug, I haven't look through the other's method. But I hear a lot of tips and have accumulated. I think it is basically as same as the others. Are there big differences among blidfold methods such as LBL and CF? 2x2, 3x3 corners: For memorization 8 numbers, UBL=1, UBR=2,...DFL=5, DFR=6...(clockwise on both U and D) I saw Dror was teaching (RB'R'B)x3 to Macky at WC. This is really good and easy algorithm. (RB'R'B)x3 Ux (RB'R'B)x3 U'x moves three corners between U and D. 3x3 edges: Currently I use 12 numbers for memorization. I could not understand how to determine the orientation especially for middle edges. Macky posted tips somewhere but I did not understand at that time. Yesterday, I just realized it! It is easy to determine the orientation of the edges in U and D and to be placed in U and D. Suppose UF > RF. Imagine placing the UF edge to UR by U' and then do edge three rotation with UR, RF, and DR. If the final orientation is correct, the original orientation was correct. As long as you solve the edges through UR, UL, DR, DL (not from M slice!) placing by Ux or Dx, you will not loose the orientation. (Do you understand?) The algorithms I used are u2R'uR2u'R'u2 (u=middle slice move) and its variation.And F2r'F2r and its variation. You should know the algorithms for either corners and edges with in U or D. Because I am not native English speaker, so I don't know how people remember these numbers. As Macky says, Japanese language may help memorization by making mnemonics. For example I can remember 524 as Konishi. (It is Katsu's family name!) (I am thinking to use Japanese characters "Hiragana" instead of numbers because they order in pentimal system. ) Masayuki Akimoto

CONGRATS MASAYUKI!!! I knew you would figure it out. I think that you are currently online. I found it very interesting that you said it is easier to memorize numbers in Japonese. I study languages (Ancient Greek philosophy and Latin poetry mainly but also French and German) and so I am always very interested in the way that some thoughts are easier to express in one language than another (especially when it comes to philosophy). Numeric memorization lends another dimension to this!! Doug, glad to hear that you are interested in blindfolding. I am a VERY newcomer to it myself (first success Dec 9) and far, far, far from the abilities of Dror, Macky, David, and Dr Carr, but I just love it. It is a feat certainly within reach of any competent cuber and a real thrill every time you are successful. As far as I know there are two main schools of blindfolding (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) - Dr. Carr's method and Stiff_Hands' method. Personally I learnt Dr. Carr's method from an easy to follow pdf file I found online. Problem is that I can't remember exactly where I found it. I thought that it was in the files section of this chat group but when I checked just now I couldn't find it. His website would be the logical place to start looking (and I believe that Dr. Carr checks into this group on a fairly regular basis): http://www.ws.binghamton.edu/fridrich/Richard/cube.html Stiff_Hands also has a very good website on Blindfolding (and other cube topics): http://homepage.ntlworld.com/family.hayden/cube/blindfold_frontpage.h tml definately check out the tips on memorization there (this may well be of interest to you too STEPHAN). One small word of warning. Stiff_Hands and Dr. Carr use slightly different approaches to numbering the cubies. Neither one is right or wrong - they are just different. I suggest that you pick one and stick with it to avoid confusion. The basic trick to blindfolding is to learn how to solve the corners without affecting the edges, and the edges without affecting the corners. (With the one small exception of the parity swap of 2 edges and 2 corners if it arises - but it is pretty easy to spot with a little practise). This can be practised with your eyes open first so that you accustom yourself to the solution path first before trying to do it blind. While I was learning I used to solve all the edges with my eyes open and then just blindfold the corners - this is better than using a 2x2x2 because it lets you know if you have altered the edge orientations or positions. When I was tolerably good at that I would visually solve the corners and then blindfold the edges. Finally I combined them and because I had practised the stages individually I was lucky enough to be successful on my first ever full blindfold attempt. Break the big problem into smaller problems and it is easier to conquer. If anyone is still reading this message then they are clearly interested in blindfolding so let me take this opportunity to let them know that there is also a Yahoo chatgroup dedicated to blindfold solving: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindfoldsolving-rubiks-cube/ Membership is currently very small and the messages are very infrequent. BUT it seems that more and more people are becoming intrigued by blindfold solving so maybe it can come to life again. Good luck Doug. WELL DONE MASAYUKI! Rob --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, makimoto2000us <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hi Doug, > > I haven't look through the other's method. > But I hear a lot of tips and have accumulated. > I think it is basically as same as the others. > Are there big differences among blidfold methods such as LBL and CF? > > 2x2, 3x3 corners: > For memorization 8 numbers, UBL=1, UBR=2,...DFL=5, DFR=6... (clockwise > on both U and D) > > I saw Dror was teaching (RB'R'B)x3 to Macky at WC. > This is really good and easy algorithm. > (RB'R'B)x3 Ux (RB'R'B)x3 U'x moves three corners between U and D. > > 3x3 edges: > Currently I use 12 numbers for memorization. > > I could not understand how to determine the orientation especially > for middle edges. Macky posted tips somewhere but I did not > understand at that time. > Yesterday, I just realized it! > > It is easy to determine the orientation of the edges in U and D and > to be placed in U and D. > Suppose UF > RF. Imagine placing the UF edge to UR by U' and then do > edge three rotation with UR, RF, and DR. If the final orientation is > correct, the original orientation was correct. > As long as you solve the edges through UR, UL, DR, DL (not from M > slice!) placing by Ux or Dx, you will not loose the orientation. > (Do you understand?) > > The algorithms I used are u2R'uR2u'R'u2 (u=middle slice move) and its > variation.And F2r'F2r and its variation. > > You should know the algorithms for either corners and edges with in U > or D. > > Because I am not native English speaker, so I don't know how people > remember these numbers. As Macky says, Japanese language may help > memorization by making mnemonics. > > For example I can remember 524 as Konishi. (It is Katsu's family > name!) > > (I am thinking to use Japanese characters "Hiragana" instead of > numbers because they order in pentimal system. ) > > Masayuki Akimoto

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, makimoto2000us <no_reply@y...> wrote: >> Because I am not native English speaker, so I don't know how people > remember these numbers. As Macky says, Japanese language may help > memorization by making mnemonics. > > For example I can remember 524 as Konishi. (It is Katsu's family > name!) > > (I am thinking to use Japanese characters "Hiragana" instead of > numbers because they order in pentimal system. ) > > Masayuki Akimoto Using Hiragana is a very clever Idea. How would you encode for the digits 6, 7, 8, 9, 0? Would you reserve certain sound groups for these digits (eg, Ma Mi Mu Me Mo corresponding to 6 7 8 9 0, and not 1 2 3 4 5)? There is a mnemonic method that can be used in english for memorizing digits, but it may not be as flexible as using Kana. For english speakers, the system works by assigning consonant sounds to each digit: 0 S or Z 1 T or D 2 N 3 M 4 R 5 L 6 Sh or J 7 K or G (hard G, as in Gun, and not in German) 8 F or V 9 P or B Some of the digits have more than one sound associated, but they are similar in that the sounds are formed the same way (note the way you position your tongue when you pronounce the T in tie or the D in die). then you just add vowels between the consonants to make words. So, where you would encode 524 as Ko Ni Shi in hiragana, the english system might be used to encode it as eyeLiNeR (vowel sounds have no corresponding digit value, so "eye" has no value) LiNeaR, LuNaR, and so on. Conversely, Masayuki Akimoto = 307 731 Lucas Winter

Hey Lucas, Do you happen to know how the different sonds were attributed to the different numericla values in the first place? Was there a logic behind the assignation or were they simply attributed? Rob (Lucas wrote: For english speakers, the system works by assigning consonant sounds to each digit: 0 S or Z 1 T or D 2 N 3 M 4 R 5 L 6 Sh or J 7 K or G (hard G, as in Gun, and not in German) 8 F or V 9 P or B Some of the digits have more than one sound associated, but they are similar in that the sounds are formed the same way (note the way you position your tongue when you pronounce the T in tie or the D in die).

Your dream sounds like finding Diagon Alley! :) Jasmine. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, mrtrickypants <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > i wonder how many of us have had "this" dream... > > i've had a dream or two about stumbling into a "secret" puzzle > shop...usually it's hidden in the back of some place that i've known > about for years, but then i move a few boxes, or find a well- hidden > door, and there it is...a mecca of all the puzzles we search for. > > another variation, is finding boxes of old and forgotten about stock > from the 80's in some old store or shop that hardly anyone goes to > anymore. > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, jasmine_ellen > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > Last night I dreamt that a new puzzle shop opened near where I > live. > > It was a pretty small store, but it had an amazing collection of > > puzzles. It had lots of 3x3x3 cubes (picture cubes, different > > colours, sparkly stickers, etc.), and 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 (which > > currently aren't available in any of the Canberra puzzles stores). > > There were also a bunch of puzzles that I'd never seen before. > There > > were so many puzzles that I remember taking several trips to the > > cashier with armfuls of puzzles (there were so many I couldn't > carry > > them all at once!) :) > > > > Jasmine.

I don't remember travelling there in the dream, :/ I just remember being there. :) Jasmine. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > I've also dreamed about puzzle shops lately, but they weren't as cool > as yours. Now let's hope you have parapsychological powers and your > store really exists! Try dreaming of your way home next time, then > take the inverse way to get there in real life! ;-) > > Stefan > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, jasmine_ellen > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > Last night I dreamt that a new puzzle shop opened near where I live. > > It was a pretty small store, but it had an amazing collection of > > puzzles. It had lots of 3x3x3 cubes (picture cubes, different > > colours, sparkly stickers, etc.), and 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 (which > > currently aren't available in any of the Canberra puzzles stores). > > There were also a bunch of puzzles that I'd never seen before. There > > were so many puzzles that I remember taking several trips to the > > cashier with armfuls of puzzles (there were so many I couldn't carry > > them all at once!) :) > > > > Jasmine.

Hi Rob and Lucus, Thanks for your comments. I agree with Rob's old comment "it is not as difficult as you think." It is difficult but those who remember more than 100s of algorithms must be able to do it. Of course, speedblindfold solving must be different. >Conversely, Masayuki Akimoto = 307 731 Interesting! I should use this for password or something, if I could remember.... >Using Hiragana is a very clever Idea. How would you encode for the >digits 6, 7, 8, 9, 0? Would you reserve certain sound groups for >these digits (eg, Ma Mi Mu Me Mo corresponding to 6 7 8 9 0, and not >1 2 3 4 5)? I believe people use numebers correspond to the final place to be moved. In my case it was U:1234, middle:5678, D:9 10 11 12. So I would like to replace like this. ex. 1=a, ka, sa, 2=i, ki, si, 3=u, ku, su, 4=e, ke, se, 5=ta, na, ha,... 9=ma, (ya), ra,... Anyway, I haven't tried yet. I will see how it works. Masayuki Akimoto P.S. Should I post to blidfold club?

Congratulations! However - and I hope you understand that I don't want to be mean - I think most of us blindfolded solvers do not take any notes (before having solved the puzzle) and you say yourself that taking notes makes it much easier for you. So I think we should either have a separate category or we state in our submissions what kind of help we used. I do think that posting semiblindfolded records somehow especially for new puzzles might be a good idea, since if someone makes progress somewhere that others haven't thought about yet it might incite them to try it, too. If Richard and the other guys from the "amazing" list had taken notes for their attempts I'd of course be less impressed than I am now. More importantly, it wouldn't be fair if one of them took notes and the other doesn't and their results look the same, possibly even making the note taker look better because he got a better time or more cubes or a harder puzzle or whatever (it's not constrained to speedblindsolving only). Cheers! Stefan --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, makimoto2000us <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hi > > I finally solved 3x3 in blidfold manner. > It is so cool. > Thanks Rob, Ron, and Macky for inspiration. > > It took several months to be ready for 3x3. > I have always tried just 2x2. My time is now 2-3 min unless too > lucky. (Not 100% success) > > Before I start 3x3, I took notes for memorization and record. > And after I did, I realized it is much easier for memrization if I > take notes. > I think just for blindfold solving, taking notes must be allowed. > But for speed, it may not be allowed. > > Am I right? > > Masayuki Akimoto

> The Eastheen is a bit tricky but you must push to teh outside with a > screw driver a little platic clip inside the corne and the corner > can slide of > http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/images/Eastheen%202x2x2.JPG Hi Ton, I just got an already assembled 2x2 and an assembly one (both Eastsheen). After just putting that "thing" (you know what I part mean) inside a corner cubie I tried to remove just that. It did work, but it is quite stuck inside the cubie even without the clip. I can not just slide it out. Did you actually succeed in doing this on a fully assembled cubeor is it just theory? Any tips would be appreciated, since I can't figure out how to pull the clip and at the same time use enough (but not too much) force to pull the corner cubie away. Having just the two pieces I can bring another screwdriver under the piece inside the cubie and *push* it out, but I can't do both things on the assembled cube. Cheers! Stefan

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, makimoto2000us <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hi Rob and Lucus, > > Thanks for your comments. > I agree with Rob's old comment "it is not as difficult as you think." > > It is difficult but those who remember more than 100s of algorithms > must be able to do it. Of course, speedblindfold solving must be > different. > > >Conversely, Masayuki Akimoto = 307 731 > Interesting! I should use this for password or something, if I could > remember.... > > >Using Hiragana is a very clever Idea. How would you encode for the > >digits 6, 7, 8, 9, 0? Would you reserve certain sound groups for > >these digits (eg, Ma Mi Mu Me Mo corresponding to 6 7 8 9 0, and not > >1 2 3 4 5)? > I believe people use numebers correspond to the final place to be > moved. > In my case it was U:1234, middle:5678, D:9 10 11 12. > > So I would like to replace like this. > ex. > 1=a, ka, sa, 2=i, ki, si, 3=u, ku, su, 4=e, ke, se, > 5=ta, na, ha,... > 9=ma, (ya), ra,... > > Anyway, I haven't tried yet. I will see how it works. > > Masayuki Akimoto > > P.S. Should I post to blidfold club? You could, but since the messages are restricted rather than public, as in this group, I tend not to post there. I don't know if this is true of other blindfold cubists. Well done on your success!

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > Congratulations! > > However - and I hope you understand that I don't want to be mean - I > think most of us blindfolded solvers do not take any notes (before > having solved the puzzle) and you say yourself that taking notes > makes it much easier for you. So I think we should either have a > separate category or we state in our submissions what kind of help > we used. > > I do think that posting semiblindfolded records somehow especially > for new puzzles might be a good idea, since if someone makes > progress somewhere that others haven't thought about yet it might > incite them to try it, too. > > If Richard and the other guys from the "amazing" list had taken > notes for their attempts I'd of course be less impressed than I am > now. More importantly, it wouldn't be fair if one of them took notes > and the other doesn't and their results look the same, possibly even > making the note taker look better because he got a better time or > more cubes or a harder puzzle or whatever (it's not constrained to > speedblindsolving only). > > Cheers! > Stefan > I'd agree with this. It may be a good step towards no notes though. I'm still infuriatingly just shy of 3+3+4+5 (one edge transposition out on 4x4x4 is best so far) and I think that with notes it would probably be easier, although my main problems here are a slightly slippy 4, a slightly stiff 5 and trying to concentrate for 2.5 hours without losing it. Actually, for 5 (or even 4), if anyone has an algorithm for centre 3 cycles of the following form: F face B face AAA XXX AAA XXX AAC AXX ^ ^ ^ (i.e. something that effectively puts the C in the F face into the place occupied by the A on the B face using, e.g., the marked A (or another equivalent) on the F face)), it would make solving the 5 blindfolded a lot easier. > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, makimoto2000us > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > Hi > > > > I finally solved 3x3 in blidfold manner. > > It is so cool. > > Thanks Rob, Ron, and Macky for inspiration. > > > > It took several months to be ready for 3x3. > > I have always tried just 2x2. My time is now 2-3 min unless too > > lucky. (Not 100% success) > > > > Before I start 3x3, I took notes for memorization and record. > > And after I did, I realized it is much easier for memrization if I > > take notes. > > I think just for blindfold solving, taking notes must be allowed. > > But for speed, it may not be allowed. > > > > Am I right? > > > > Masayuki Akimoto

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Rob Butler" <futuese@y...> wrote: > > CONGRATS MASAYUKI!!! > > I knew you would figure it out. I think that you are currently > online. I found it very interesting that you said it is easier to > memorize numbers in Japonese. I study languages (Ancient Greek > philosophy and Latin poetry mainly but also French and German) and > so I am always very interested in the way that some thoughts are > easier to express in one language than another (especially when it > comes to philosophy). Numeric memorization lends another dimension > to this!! > > Doug, > > glad to hear that you are interested in blindfolding. I am a VERY > newcomer to it myself (first success Dec 9) and far, far, far from > the abilities of Dror, Macky, David, and Dr Carr, but I just love it. > It is a feat certainly within reach of any competent cuber and a > real thrill every time you are successful. As far as I know there > are two main schools of blindfolding (someone please correct me if > I'm wrong) - Dr. Carr's method and Stiff_Hands' method. > Personally I learnt Dr. Carr's method from an easy to follow pdf > file I found online. 3rd link on the links page. It's a fairly primitive method that is described there, though. I have been working on something much better for a while now (though this new method is too hard for me to learn). >Problem is that I can't remember exactly where > I found it. I thought that it was in the files section of this chat > group but when I checked just now I couldn't find it. His website > would be the logical place to start looking (and I believe that Dr. > Carr checks into this group on a fairly regular basis): > > http://www.ws.binghamton.edu/fridrich/Richard/cube.html > > > > Stiff_Hands also has a very good website on Blindfolding (and other > cube topics): > > http://homepage.ntlworld.com/family.hayden/cube/blindfold_frontpage.h > tml > > definately check out the tips on memorization there (this may well > be of interest to you too STEPHAN). One small word of warning. > Stiff_Hands and Dr. Carr use slightly different approaches to > numbering the cubies. Neither one is right or wrong - they are just > different. I suggest that you pick one and stick with it to avoid > confusion. > > > The basic trick to blindfolding is to learn how to solve the corners > without affecting the edges, and the edges without affecting the > corners. (With the one small exception of the parity swap of 2 > edges and 2 corners if it arises - but it is pretty easy to spot > with a little practise). This can be practised with your eyes open > first so that you accustom yourself to the solution path first > before trying to do it blind. While I was learning I used to solve > all the edges with my eyes open and then just blindfold the corners - > this is better than using a 2x2x2 because it lets you know if you > have altered the edge orientations or positions. When I was > tolerably good at that I would visually solve the corners and then > blindfold the edges. Finally I combined them and because I had > practised the stages individually I was lucky enough to be > successful on my first ever full blindfold attempt. Break the big > problem into smaller problems and it is easier to conquer. > > If anyone is still reading this message then they are clearly > interested in blindfolding so let me take this opportunity to let > them know that there is also a Yahoo chatgroup dedicated to > blindfold solving: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindfoldsolving-rubiks-cube/ > > Membership is currently very small and the messages are very > infrequent. BUT it seems that more and more people are becoming > intrigued by blindfold solving so maybe it can come to life again. > > Good luck Doug. > > WELL DONE MASAYUKI! > > Rob > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, makimoto2000us > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > Hi Doug, > > > > I haven't look through the other's method. > > But I hear a lot of tips and have accumulated. > > I think it is basically as same as the others. > > Are there big differences among blidfold methods such as LBL and > CF? > > > > 2x2, 3x3 corners: > > For memorization 8 numbers, UBL=1, UBR=2,...DFL=5, DFR=6... > (clockwise > > on both U and D) > > > > I saw Dror was teaching (RB'R'B)x3 to Macky at WC. > > This is really good and easy algorithm. > > (RB'R'B)x3 Ux (RB'R'B)x3 U'x moves three corners between U and D. > > > > 3x3 edges: > > Currently I use 12 numbers for memorization. > > > > I could not understand how to determine the orientation especially > > for middle edges. Macky posted tips somewhere but I did not > > understand at that time. > > Yesterday, I just realized it! > > > > It is easy to determine the orientation of the edges in U and D > and > > to be placed in U and D. > > Suppose UF > RF. Imagine placing the UF edge to UR by U' and then > do > > edge three rotation with UR, RF, and DR. If the final orientation > is > > correct, the original orientation was correct. > > As long as you solve the edges through UR, UL, DR, DL (not from M > > slice!) placing by Ux or Dx, you will not loose the orientation. > > (Do you understand?) > > > > The algorithms I used are u2R'uR2u'R'u2 (u=middle slice move) and > its > > variation.And F2r'F2r and its variation. > > > > You should know the algorithms for either corners and edges with > in U > > or D. > > > > Because I am not native English speaker, so I don't know how > people > > remember these numbers. As Macky says, Japanese language may help > > memorization by making mnemonics. > > > > For example I can remember 524 as Konishi. (It is Katsu's family > > name!) > > > > (I am thinking to use Japanese characters "Hiragana" instead of > > numbers because they order in pentimal system. ) > > > > Masayuki Akimoto

Hi Rob (and all), My understanding of this mnemonic system is that some of it has logic but maybe not all. Each letter has a range of words associated with it that can also be used in similar systems. For example T for 1 can be thought of as a toe which would remind you of a 1, N for 2 reminds you of Noah and pairs of animals, L is roman numeral for 50 and so 5 etc - I think i read this in a book by Tony Buzan or someone similar who is very good on this sort of thing. I've forgotten most of what I ever knew (and not just about mnemonics either!). Incidentally when I used to solve blindfold with my friend John White in the early 80s (John was down as the world record holder until fairly recently I think) we never used any such systems - just remember where each cubie was and followed it around as we planned our solve. John was pretty good and solved probably 90% of the time and in around 20 minutes as I recall. He appeared on TV in around 1983 in the UK where he sadly took two looks to solve. Unfortunately I don't think he cubes any more but I know he still has a huge selection of cube type puzzles (more than 20 different types I think maybe a lot more). Duncan ----- Original Message ----- From: Rob Butler To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 6:21 AM Subject: Re: [Speed cubing group] Finally, I solved 3x3 in blindfold manner! Hey Lucas, Do you happen to know how the different sonds were attributed to the different numericla values in the first place? Was there a logic behind the assignation or were they simply attributed? Rob (Lucas wrote: For english speakers, the system works by assigning consonant sounds to each digit: 0 S or Z 1 T or D 2 N 3 M 4 R 5 L 6 Sh or J 7 K or G (hard G, as in Gun, and not in German) 8 F or V 9 P or B Some of the digits have more than one sound associated, but they are similar in that the sounds are formed the same way (note the way you position your tongue when you pronounce the T in tie or the D in die). Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi folks, James Burke needs a cube solver from the Chicago area, please email him at cubeman@... if interested. Mark

It's John Burke

Hi GoD2, I was expressing these ideas in English, and I see it has led to misunderstanding. Put aside formal language for the moment. Infinities have finite aspects: though a series of numbers like 1,2,3,4 is considered to have no end (that is no limit finite meaning an end or a limit) it has a beginning. It also has individual numbers like 1 or 10,000,001 which is another finite aspect. SO in relating to an finite aspect of an infine series you (logically and fairly) realte to a fiven point so the group of numbers divisible by 2 is larger than the group of numbers divisible by three, so i consider the subset to be of different sizes as well. If you take *all* of the numbers in the infinirte set 1,2,3,4 and so forth, and consider that as one whole thing you can relate to the idea of infinity equalling one if you graph it. So on our graph as the position of the number 2, half of all the numbers after that are not prime, this is what I meant by density, after the number 3, you have 1/2 + 1/3 - 1/6 of the numbers after that are not prime, so the "density" of non-prime numbers grows and the density of possible prime numbers drops. To clarify, I was using density to mean the *percentage* of numbers beyond a prime that are not prime. You can chart this, in numerical order one step at a time, and after a while obtain a line with characteristics that can be noted, and from which it may possible to predict where the next prime is likely to fall. For this density to reach zero would mean that there were no prime numbers after a particular point, which I don't think can happen. *** People are misled by misunderstanding a term. They don't understand that they're dealing an infinity of finite objects and they neatly overlook what that means. When you misplay infinities you get things like 1/9 = .11111... (point one unending) and 8/9 = .88888... (point eight unending) so 1/9 + 8/9 +=9/9 = .99999... (point nine unending) = 1. This is like Zeno's paradox that .9 unending is an infinite series of nines, almost getting to one but not quite. You shoot an arrow at a fence then describe it as "the arrow goes halfway there, then half way there, etc." Thought the arrow hits the fence the description never gets there. Regards, David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, GameOfDeath2 <no_reply@y...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, d_j_salvia@y... wrote: > > Hi GameofDeath2, > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, GameOfDeath2 > > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" > > > <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > > > > Hi GameofDeath2 > > > > > > > > From one post 4007 > > > > > > > > > > Right, the order is important. I though that it could be > > > graphed > > > > > and the different projections could be tested. > > > > > > > > > What do you mean by "projections could be tested"? What are > the > > > > projections and what would the test be? > > > > > > > > and from the next post 4008 > > > > > > > > > Why not add and subtract them in numerical order? That's how > > > > they fall naturally. > > > > > > > > > That's not actually true because for each fraction you're > > > actually > > > > including or excluding an infinite number of numbers. > > > > > > > > So you make "one" the unit of infinity; > > > > > > You can't really do that. > > > > Of course you can. > > > > No, you can't. > > > > There are strange properties of infinite > > > sets - e.g. there are as many even numbers as whole numbers or > as > > > fractions. > > > > I know this is a common misunderstanding. All infinities are not > > the same size. Those who claim they are have not thought it > through. > > > > Whilst not all infinities are the same size, all infinite subsets of > the natural numbers are and they all have the same order type too > (in the usual well-ordering). I have thought about infinities quite > a lot actually. I did a Ph.D. in set theory. > > > > Thus you need to be able to define a particular notion of > > > density (generally something like the limit of pi(x)/x as > > > x->infinity is the sort of thing). > > > > Yes, the density changes as the occurances of primes progresses. > > No, the density is defined to be the limit, not a succession of > values. > > > > > > For the primes this density > > > becomes 0 in the limit (as it is approximately asymptotic to > things > > > like 1/(ln x)). > > > > No, the density *never* reaches zero. > > The density is defined to be the limit and this is 0. > > > > > > > you graph 1/2 > > > > (you add 1/3 and you subtract 1/6) > > > > graph that as a point above 1/2 > > > > (you add 1/5 - you subtract 1/10 and 1/15) > > > > graph that etc. > > > > > > > > The graphed points end up defining a slope. > > > > Each addition is a prime, the subtractions are a correction > for > > > > doubling, so the point on the slope is marked after the > > > corrections. > > > > > > > > This won't converge because it can't. > > > > > > > > > > Why can't it? > > > > Nothing to converge with, overall. You do want it to give you > > something useful at particular points, but you have to go to the > next > > step an define those points. > > Converge "with" rather than to? Am I to assume you are talking about > converging with respect to some non-standard topology. > > > > > > I haven't really given it any thought as to whether it > > > can or not - clearly it isn't absolutely convergent but you are > > > saying that it can't converge. If that's true then it's not > really a > > > good definition of density (which should be a value in [0,1]). > > > > Overall it can't be because of the open ended nature of it (the > > infinit aspect) but in individual cases it can give a density for > that > > region of whole numbers. > > > > The infinity aspect is not a difficulty though, unless of course you > are denying the possibility of inductive sets or some other axiom > for infinite sets, in which case you can't even have a set of primes > anyway. > > > > > There's lots of information embedded there and multiple > ways to > > > > project where the slope is going, for example, take a running > > > average > > > > of the difference over two or more points, or three or more > > > points, or > > > > more, and graphing them, etc. Several such averages just might > > > > converge. :) Do you see what I mean? > > > > > > Surely if it couldn't converge the slope couldn't be going > anywhere! > > > > If overall the limit is zero, this line can head for the limit > > infinitely and it will never arrive. > > > > There are formal definitions of limit though. > > > > I assume you want to look at something like a Cesaro sum. I > still > > > can't see why you can add all of your 1/2 and 1/3 before > subtracting > > > your 1/6. > > > > Because the sieve will be the wrong size for a region of whole > > numbers if you don't state it correctly. There is no one density - > you > > need a means for plugging in specific primes to have a go at the > next > > prime. The region of the next prime will have a different density > of > > non-primes than any other prime. > > > > I'd have to disagree in general. Certainly different (contiguous or > otherwise) subsets will have different densities of primes, but > that's not really what the question at the heart of it is, which is > to get approximations for pi(x) (or pi(x)/x) for large x. > For instance, since you seem to be going for a density at every > step - what about {1,2,3,4,5}. You'd have 1/2+1/3-1/6+1/5 (and > possibly -1/10-1/15+1/30) for the density of composites if I follow > you because you have subtracted 1/6 before you added 1/5. > > If you still disagree with me in terms of the infinite stuff, can > you at least tell me from what level you are coming to it so that I > know what level of formality you are using. > > > Regards, > > > > David J

Haha!!! Its great to see that i am not the only one who dreams of cubes. I'll have to share a poem i wrote about it. I'm on a friends computer so i will post it later ;) jake

--- GameOfDeath2 wrote: > Actually, for 5 (or even 4), if anyone has an algorithm for centre > 3 cycles of the following form: > F face B face > AAA XXX > AAA XXX > AAC AXX > ^ ^ ^ > > (i.e. something that effectively puts the C in the F face into the > place occupied by the A on the B face using, e.g., the marked A (or > another equivalent) on the F face)), it would make solving the 5 > blindfolded a lot easier. I believe all you're looking for would be this: l2 F r2 F' l2 F r2 F' This rotates 3 centers DBL -> UFL -> DBR -> DBL . - Grant

Yep, I did remove the corner on a already assembled cube. It is very easy if you know where to put the screw driver in and push that "thing" . I can noot take pictures of it beacuse it is inside the cube.It took me some time to figure , so yes it is tricky Ton --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > The Eastheen is a bit tricky but you must push to teh outside with > a > > screw driver a little platic clip inside the corne and the corner > > can slide of > > http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/images/Eastheen%202x2x2.JPG > > Hi Ton, > > I just got an already assembled 2x2 and an assembly one (both > Eastsheen). After just putting that "thing" (you know what I part > mean) inside a corner cubie I tried to remove just that. It did > work, but it is quite stuck inside the cubie even without the clip. > I can not just slide it out. > > Did you actually succeed in doing this on a fully assembled cubeor > is it just theory? Any tips would be appreciated, since I can't > figure out how to pull the clip and at the same time use enough (but > not too much) force to pull the corner cubie away. Having just the > two pieces I can bring another screwdriver under the piece inside > the cubie and *push* it out, but I can't do both things on the > assembled cube. > > Cheers! > Stefan

Vending Machine by Jacob Rueth I had a dream of a vending machine. It wasn't filled with candy or mini cuisines. It was filled with Rubiks Cubes. Which ones am I going to choose? 5x5s? 4x4s? 3x3s? Oh look!!! A DOGIC!!! Is waiting for me! I put my money in, and I soon begin to holler That stupid machine won't take my dollar!!! So I just stand there, at the machine I glare I soon become aware that this dream I dreamed has turned into a nightmare!

Ok, It has been about 3 days into my school year and I started it like any new speedcuber would...by displaying my talent to people who think they would NEVER EVER be able to solve a RUBIK'S cube and become some godlike intellectual to them (not that I don't already have that title, but thats beside the point).[pun|ctuation]However, I did not bargain for what I got...EVERY PERSON WHO KNOWS I CUBE HAS SAID THIS EXACT SAME THING TO ME AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER...OR SEVERAL TIMES!!! (WARNING: HOTHEADED PARAPHRASING AHEAD!!) "ha ha, you know how I solve the rubik's cube? ha ha....do you? do you? ok I'll tell you...omg lol, I peeled off the stickers!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!! WASN'T THAT A FUNNY WAY TO RELATE TO YOU AND YOUR NEW HOBBY! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!..." --------- and while we're on the subject of cliches--- heres an excerpt of a conversation I had with a friend on that little "factoid" about the population of china in a single file line... him: if the population of china walked past you in a single file line, the line would never end due to the rate of reproduction. him: cool, eh? me: yes it would him: not it wouldnt, lol me: theres a three year gap in which someone is born and that person could walk me: eventually me: it would end or have a slight reprieve him: not at the rate they walk me: ah him: people walk about 6mph on average me: indeed me: but supposing that this straight line were to be compiled beforehand and then you were positioned somewhere in the area of...lets say taiwan him: its assuming you start where you can see the front of the line me: I dare say that line (being straight, of course) would extend from taiwan (where you are) well into russia, india, or kazakhstan depending on the angle him: or right into the pacific :-) me: and how do you have sex and reproduce and care for a child well enough for it to walk when burdened by having to be in a straight line walking past some asshole who wants to formulate a fantastical situation to emphasize the growth of your country's population me: then of course, there are the drowned men who walk into the pacific to talk about, the death rate would soar! him: yup -------------------- Anyone have the former problem? I want to rip my hair out over this one...its NOT clever at all! -Kyle __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Rob Butler" <futuese@y...> wrote: > > Hey Lucas, > > Do you happen to know how the different sonds were attributed to > the different numericla values in the first place? Was there a > logic behind the assignation or were they simply attributed? > > Rob > Hi Rob http://www.geosoc.org/schools/pass/memory/mema8.htm It is called the Major System. I don't know how old it is, but it has been around for a while. I learned it from a book called Mega Memory by Kevin Trudeau (the infomercial guy). I subsequently discovered that all of his material was pretty much just repackaged material from other memory systems. He actually had a pretty good way of teaching the Major System, which I haven't seen anywhere else. He first created Peg Lists in the early part of the course which you could use to associate with the information you want to learn. One of the lists was the Body List Toes Knees Muscle (as in your quad muscles) Rear Love handles Shoulders Collar Face Point (the point at the top of your head) Ceiling So you just work your way up your body from toes to ceiling. Later on, he explains why those specific words were chosen for the body list, and then just has you note the initial sound from the body list and just assigns digits to the list in the same order. I have seen the Major List in a memory course from Harry Lorayne which was published in 1968. I suspect that the method is much older though.

Dude... I totally agree with you about the sticker thing. Everyone... and I mean everyone says, "You know I just peel the stickers off." or, "You know, when I was little I used to just peel the stickers off." I dont think I've met anyone who commented to me about the cube and hasn't said one of those! I just give the usual fake laugh as I pay full attention to the cube after that. ferret

I personally get a little annoyed every time I hear someone say they used to peel the stickers off, but in their defense I guess people don't see cubes around much so it seems like a clever thing to say on the rare occasion that they see someone (you) doing the cube. I'm curious though why *everyone* says it. I too very rarely meet someone who sees me do it for the first time who doesn't comment about peeling the stickers off. I wonder if it was those sticker sets that they marketed as the "ultimate solution", or maybe when people got frustrated at it and someone finally DID peel the stickers off and told a friend, that it spread like wildfire and everyone did it. I still find it annoying when I hear it, but I find it really interesting that it really does seem to me that 95% of the people who've seen me do it for the first time give the sticker comment. Maybe we should all cube in public and take a survey about the number of times approached about your solving versus the number of times you get the sticker comment. :) Just pitching in my two cents, Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "ferret511" <ferret511@y...> wrote: > Dude... I totally agree with you about the sticker thing. > Everyone... and I mean everyone says, > > "You know I just peel the stickers off." or, > > "You know, when I was little I used to just peel the stickers off." > > I dont think I've met anyone who commented to me about the cube and > hasn't said one of those! I just give the usual fake laugh as I pay > full attention to the cube after that. > > ferret

Yeah the sticker comment is irritating and ubiquitous. I heard it in the 80s in the UK when I first solved it as a schoolboy and I still hear it all the time on university campuses in Canada. Instead of the fake laugh I usually just respond: "yeah I've heard of that technique but I don't use it since it takes way too long" and offer to race them. Noone has accepted the challenge yet and better still it seems to shut them up. Rob

yeh i`ve had the sticker comment...to which i reply...thats cause your crap...and they usually shut up.....LMAO

You know, that comment is to cubers as "Where's your other wheel?" is to unicyclists. Just something I noticed. And both of them are like "I know how you do that." To magicians. Anyway, I agree that it gets annoying. One of the good things of painted cubes. Hand it to them and say, "Show me." Haha.

Daaaang, that would suck if it didn't take your dollar. I would spend like fifty bucks at a vending machine like that. Speaking of cube dreams, did anything ever come of your Dream Method you mentioned? --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Vending Machine by Jacob Rueth > > I had a dream > of a vending machine. > It wasn't filled with candy > or mini cuisines. > > It was filled with Rubiks Cubes. > Which ones am I going to choose? > 5x5s? 4x4s? 3x3s? > Oh look!!! A DOGIC!!! > Is waiting for me! I put my money in, > and I soon begin to holler > That stupid machine > won't take my dollar!!! > > So I just stand there, > at the machine I glare > I soon become aware > that this dream I dreamed > has turned into a nightmare!

--- cubed68 wrote: > yeh i`ve had the sticker comment...to which i reply...thats cause > your crap...and they usually shut up.....LMAO I've heard the comment too... Quite a lot. Either that, or "I used to just take it apart", which happens to be what I did as a kid, not wanting to mess up the stickers. However, should we react to people with annoyance? Like Chris said - most people aren't used to seeing cubes on a regular basis, as we are. If you want to get others interested in cubing, take their comment as a conversation starter, rather than getting annoyed and/or turning them away with a rash response - tell them how you got initiated to the cube, and learned to solve it the right way! If you used to do the same or take it apart to solve it, fess up, and then share how your method's changed... Just my two cents. - Grant

Thanks guys for participating the 100th Japanese Sunday contest. Total number of participants were roughly 90-100 (close to 100!) Thanks again. We will make final tables to post somewhere. If you still want to contribute, please e-mail me your results. You can download the information from "files" section. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/files/ Masayuki Akimoto masayuki@...

Hi Everyone! I've been very excited by online contests that I've participated in recently. From this, and from the suggestion of my (super fast) cube mate Ian, the Saturday Contest was born. At the moment it is only for the 3x3x3 cube. I hope you all participate and enjoy yourselves. Here's the link... http://s92413871.onlinehome.us/saturcon/ Have fun! - Raul

Another example... It's like when someone says to Leonard Nimoy: "I didn't recognize you without the ears!" Or to a soaking wet courier: "Is it raining?" On Friday 09 January 2004 12:34 am, Michael Atkinson wrote: > You know, that comment is to cubers as "Where's your other wheel?" is > to unicyclists. Just something I noticed. And both of them are > like "I know how you do that." To magicians. > > Anyway, I agree that it gets annoying. One of the good things of > painted cubes. Hand it to them and say, "Show me." Haha. Or a Rubik's Game cube, or a Deluxe... Yes, for this group someone saying they peal the stickers off is like saying you don't know the alphabet :)

I can't say you're being original here... but on the other hand, I can't say I won't compete :P count me in! -Koen --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Raul" <topgunryu@y...> wrote: > Hi Everyone! > > I've been very excited by online contests that I've participated in > recently. From this, and from the suggestion of my (super fast) cube > mate Ian, the Saturday Contest was born. At the moment it is only > for the 3x3x3 cube. I hope you all participate and enjoy yourselves. > Here's the link... http://s92413871.onlinehome.us/saturcon/ > > Have fun! > > - Raul

Dror Vomberg & Ralf Laue carry of beautiful costume and record official. good!! Vomberg invent a rubik's cube paper, good! http://www.recordholders.org/en/records/rubik-blindfold.html Gaston St-Pierre inventor of 5x5x5 and Gaétan Guimond on the stage no record official is the genius & legend cubist. Gaetan is my king of the king! The power force on the stage! and easy method for the speed time! Sylvain

Hello Everyone, Some players have experienced difficulty in accessing the web site: http://www.vrk.741.com I have relocated the Virtual Rubik's Cube to another site: http://www.vrc.freehomepage.com To be able to view the applet, you need a recent browser, such as IE 6 or Netscape 7. A standalone Java application for the VRC is also available upon request, but you need to install JDK, or at least a Java Runtime Environment, both are free from Sun. No browser is needed. Have Fun, Jeff

--Excuse my friend boy at my home while I speak with my friend girl and Sylavain post the message. I'm not the great one and Gaston too. Ton the 5x5x5 is unique no copy, original only. Contact Gaston inventor please. Ralph excuse & you are very very good and Vomberg too. Désolé i'm not lucky! Grrr....... my children friend boy I'm the cubist magic only Gaétan Guimond - In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, rubiks99ca <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Dror Vomberg & Ralf Laue carry of beautiful costume and record > official. good!! > > Vomberg invent a rubik's cube paper, good! > > http://www.recordholders.org/en/records/rubik-blindfold.html > > Gaston St-Pierre inventor of 5x5x5 and Gaétan Guimond on the stage no > record official is the genius & legend cubist. Gaetan is my king of > the king! The power force on the stage! and easy method for the speed > time! > > Sylvain

JESUS CHRIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fot Pete's sake don't even *think* if peeling the stickers off, when doing multi-cube art! Not even 2d!! Single cube artists must peel the stickers off when doing their art, only to replace them by custom-made stickers. Hana a kostky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Mark Longridge <zero1@l...> wrote: > Another example... > > It's like when someone says to Leonard Nimoy: > > "I didn't recognize you without the ears!" > > Or to a soaking wet courier: > > "Is it raining?" > > > On Friday 09 January 2004 12:34 am, Michael Atkinson wrote: > > You know, that comment is to cubers as "Where's your other wheel?" is > > to unicyclists. Just something I noticed. And both of them are > > like "I know how you do that." To magicians. > > > > Anyway, I agree that it gets annoying. One of the good things of > > painted cubes. Hand it to them and say, "Show me." Haha. > > Or a Rubik's Game cube, or a Deluxe... > > Yes, for this group someone saying they peal the stickers > off is like saying you don't know the alphabet :)

No offense, or anything, but since there's already a contest identical to the one you've 'created,' what's the point? The Fewest Moves Contest and the Wednesday contest, for example, were different, so they had a point. Make a one handed contest, or a foot cubing contest, or a 4x4 contest, I would compete in those. But then again, I'm going to compete in this Saturday contest as well. Eh, whatever. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Raul" <topgunryu@y...> wrote: > Hi Everyone! > > I've been very excited by online contests that I've participated in > recently. From this, and from the suggestion of my (super fast) cube > mate Ian, the Saturday Contest was born. At the moment it is only > for the 3x3x3 cube. I hope you all participate and enjoy yourselves. > Here's the link... http://s92413871.onlinehome.us/saturcon/ > > Have fun! > > - Raul

The good thing with knowing what people are going to say is that you can prepare the perfect response. If anyone has a really good one, do share! I usually say that that is much slower than my way. I've been meaning to ask them if that actually works. Would stickers really come off and back on that easily in real life? I'm not going to try myself. The other option is to preempt. "You look like the kind of guy who would have peeled of the stickers, is that correct?". I've never done it. It would be interesting to see if people deny it when confronted, who would have claimed to do it otherwise. People like to be different, sometimes all in the same way... The one that has always stumped me though is "Do you have a system?". I don't understand what they're really asking. -- "When a stupid man is doing something he knows is wrong, he always insists that it is his duty." --- G.B. Shaw Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@... http://lar5.com

Dear everyone who loves Rubik's cube, Nice to meet(?) you! I am a Japanese cubist. I am happy to post messages here for the first time. I would like to ask a question. According to `Metamagical Themas' written by D. R. Hofstadter, for 3x3x3 Rubik's cube, the number of the least move to reach the worst case is 22 or 23 in the sense of face turns. On the other hand, on several webpages I read that such a number is not known. (Only lower and upper bounds are known.) So, I am confused. At least, I have confirmed that the Caley graph is applied to prove it if possible. I would be glad if someone tells me the truth and introduces the related sites, papers and books. Looking forward to good replies. With best regards, Takemi

First of all, I love the replies about it being slower than your way. Secondly, I'm pretty sure when people make the sticker comment, they don't mean that they actually did it. I think it's just an amusing reply to lighten up the moment. Think of it this way, we're showing off in front of someone by doing the cube... how can they reply when we're done? People usually aren't comfortable fawning over a showoff, even when the thing we're showing off is pretty cool. So they make a comment that both acknowledges that what we're doing is impressive, but also teases us about it by implying that it's something they wouldn't even be interested in trying to do. (But they're sort of also making fun of themselves, which makes the comment less offensive.) You'll notice that the people who make a joke about it will still stand around and watch us solving the cube. They're just not inclined to let us hog the spotlight too much, and who can blame them! I would say unless someone is only solving to gain attention, it's easy to take the sticker comment in the light, good-natured way it's intended. When you hear it, maybe take it as a reminder that there's a limit to how long you should be the center of attention! Still, I agree it's really interesting that nearly everyone knows that joke. Just shows the extent to which the cube has become a cultural icon. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Lars Petrus <lars@l...> wrote: > The good thing with knowing what people are going to say is that you > can prepare the perfect response. If anyone has a really good one, do > share! I usually say that that is much slower than my way. > > I've been meaning to ask them if that actually works. Would stickers > really come off and back on that easily in real life? I'm not going > to try myself. > > The other option is to preempt. "You look like the kind of guy who > would have peeled of the stickers, is that correct?". I've never done > it. It would be interesting to see if people deny it when confronted, > who would have claimed to do it otherwise. People like to be > different, sometimes all in the same way... > > > The one that has always stumped me though is "Do you have a system?". > I don't understand what they're really asking. > > -- > "When a stupid man is doing something he knows is wrong, he always > insists that it is his duty." > --- G.B. Shaw > > Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@l... http://lar5.com

Whoa, your post just made me realize something. Thanks! :-D - Raul Michael Atkinson <unipsycho6@...> wrote: No offense, or anything, but since there's already a contest identical to the one you've 'created,' what's the point? The Fewest Moves Contest and the Wednesday contest, for example, were different, so they had a point. Make a one handed contest, or a foot cubing contest, or a 4x4 contest, I would compete in those. But then again, I'm going to compete in this Saturday contest as well. Eh, whatever. - hmmm... forbidden donut - --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I personally would love to compete in a contest that had the same events and was run in the same format as the World Championship this past summer. Since those events will probably set a precedence for the way future competitions are run, I think it would be a great idea to have a contest that is run exactly like the Championships so that we can all practice the events the way we are going to have to do them in 2005. That of course assumes the contest is still on for 2005 but you see my point. I'm not saying that you have to set up your contest this way Raul, I'm just throwing out ideas for everyone to discuss. We might as well all be very familiar with the official way of doing things rather than just the categories we all have gotten used to for the unofficial lists. I'd like to see this form of competition start to become popular, personally, and would be willing to help out if others are interested in the idea. Perhaps Raul, if you are interested you could include maybe a few of the official categories in your contest. I'm not saying you have to, again I'm just throwing out ideas. Would anyone be interested in the idea of doing a Sunday contest style competition but with official competition rules and events? Perhaps we can all discuss and see what everyone thinks. Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Raul <topgunryu@y...> wrote: > Whoa, your post just made me realize something. Thanks! :-D > > - Raul > > > Michael Atkinson <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > No offense, or anything, but since there's already a contest > identical to the one you've 'created,' what's the point? > The Fewest Moves Contest and the Wednesday contest, for example, > were different, so they had a point. Make a one handed contest, or a > foot cubing contest, or a 4x4 contest, I would compete in those. > But then again, I'm going to compete in this Saturday contest as > well. Eh, whatever. > > > > - hmmm... forbidden donut - > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This used to bug me to the brink of insanity when i first started. But now i just smile realizing how much smarter i am then they are, and that they probably wouldnt even be able to solve the cube by pulling of the stickers because of their superior stupidness. Its a tough hobby.... jake

I havent been working on it much, although i should. I managed to get a couple sub 40 times if all goes right. I havent memorized any algs for it yet, but i have come up with a list of algs that would probably make it consistant in the 35 sec range, I'm sure someone may be able to reach sub-30 but i think sub 25 may be pushing it. I'll have to work on it more, and maybe I'll try and add some helpful pages on my website someday. :D JAke --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > Daaaang, that would suck if it didn't take your dollar. I would spend > like fifty bucks at a vending machine like that. > Speaking of cube dreams, did anything ever come of your Dream Method > you mentioned? > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > Vending Machine by Jacob Rueth > > > > I had a dream > > of a vending machine. > > It wasn't filled with candy > > or mini cuisines. > > > > It was filled with Rubiks Cubes. > > Which ones am I going to choose? > > 5x5s? 4x4s? 3x3s? > > Oh look!!! A DOGIC!!! > > Is waiting for me! I put my money in, > > and I soon begin to holler > > That stupid machine > > won't take my dollar!!! > > > > So I just stand there, > > at the machine I glare > > I soon become aware > > that this dream I dreamed > > has turned into a nightmare!

I see what you mean Chris. The idea is interesting. You mean like having certain rounds scheduled at a specific time of day, then choosing the people that move on to the next round...? If so, it would have to be more than a day though, because not everyone is in the same time zone, or people could agree to one time, and we all stay up. That might be a lot to do on a weekly basis, but it would be great It's the next best thing to all of us meeting. For those of you who werent sure what all the events were, here is the link. I didnt know myself since I wasnt there :'( lol http://www.rubikschamps.com/cgi-bin/events.cgi - Raul cmhardw <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: I personally would love to compete in a contest that had the same events and was run in the same format as the World Championship this past summer. Since those events will probably set a precedence for the way future competitions are run, I think it would be a great idea to have a contest that is run exactly like the Championships so that we can all practice the events the way we are going to have to do them in 2005. That of course assumes the contest is still on for 2005 but you see my point. I'm not saying that you have to set up your contest this way Raul, I'm just throwing out ideas for everyone to discuss. We might as well all be very familiar with the official way of doing things rather than just the categories we all have gotten used to for the unofficial lists. I'd like to see this form of competition start to become popular, personally, and would be willing to help out if others are interested in the idea. Perhaps Raul, if you are interested you could include maybe a few of the official categories in your contest. I'm not saying you have to, again I'm just throwing out ideas. Would anyone be interested in the idea of doing a Sunday contest style competition but with official competition rules and events? Perhaps we can all discuss and see what everyone thinks. Chris - hmmm... forbidden donut - --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Guys, I get a wide variety of comments. Of the last 100 comments maybe only 3 were of the "I just peel off the sticker" variety. Two of these were admitting that they gave up. My most frequent comment is a question, "What's the secret to solving that?" I must confess that I sometimes answer, "Knowing what you're doing." "Holy Crap!! You just solved that, didn't you?" "What's your fastest time?" "I had one of these and never could figure it out." "I haven't seen one of those since the early 70's. (Yeah Right!) "Oh cool. I solved that a long time ago, maybe I should dig out my old one." David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > I personally get a little annoyed every time I hear someone say they > used to peel the stickers off, but in their defense I guess people > don't see cubes around much so it seems like a clever thing to say > on the rare occasion that they see someone (you) doing the cube. > I'm curious though why *everyone* says it. I too very rarely meet > someone who sees me do it for the first time who doesn't comment > about peeling the stickers off. I wonder if it was those sticker > sets that they marketed as the "ultimate solution", or maybe when > people got frustrated at it and someone finally DID peel the > stickers off and told a friend, that it spread like wildfire and > everyone did it. I still find it annoying when I hear it, but I > find it really interesting that it really does seem to me that 95% > of the people who've seen me do it for the first time give the > sticker comment. > > Maybe we should all cube in public and take a survey about the > number of times approached about your solving versus the number of > times you get the sticker comment. :) > > Just pitching in my two cents, > Chris > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "ferret511" > <ferret511@y...> wrote: > > Dude... I totally agree with you about the sticker thing. > > Everyone... and I mean everyone says, > > > > "You know I just peel the stickers off." or, > > > > "You know, when I was little I used to just peel the stickers off." > > > > I dont think I've met anyone who commented to me about the cube > and > > hasn't said one of those! I just give the usual fake laugh as I > pay > > full attention to the cube after that. > > > > ferret

Hi Lars, --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Lars Petrus <lars@l...> wrote: > The good thing with knowing what people are going to say is that you > can prepare the perfect response. > If anyone has a really good one, do > share! I usually say that that is much slower than my way. Depends on the mood, saying something like, "Yes, doing it that way has appeal!" sort of bring the conversation to a halt. > I've been meaning to ask them if that actually works. Would stickers > really come off and back on that easily in real life? I'm not going > to try myself. > > The other option is to preempt. "You look like the kind of guy who > would have peeled of the stickers, is that correct?". I've never done it. It would be interesting to see if people deny it when confronted, who would have claimed to do it otherwise. People like to be different, sometimes all in the same way... > > > The one that has always stumped me though is "Do you have a system?". > I don't understand what they're really asking. They're asking if you solve it systematically. Tell them "Yes, I use the Lar Petrus Method. Brilliant bloke, really brilliant." :) David J "There is nothing so easy that reluctance cannot make difficult." > -- > "When a stupid man is doing something he knows is wrong, he always > insists that it is his duty." > --- G.B. Shaw > > Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@l... http://lar5.com

The time zone issue can be solved by having regional qualifying rounds. Split the planet in 2 or 3 regions, and have only the final between the first few from each one. Could be a lot of fun. If you required everyone to video their solutions there wouldn't be much risk of cheating either. If not, I have a feeling I can win this one :) -- "Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes" Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@... http://lar5.com

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Lars Petrus <lars@l...> wrote: > The good thing with knowing what people are going to say is that you > can prepare the perfect response. If anyone has a really good one, do > share! I usually say that that is much slower than my way. > The sticker comment really doesn't anger me that much except when some people just say like it's the funniest thing in the world and expect me to luagh as much they are. I uaually say "if you're going to cheat at least take it apart and reassemble it" or say "wel, my way's a lot faster". This comment also parallels the "where are your shoes???" that I many times a day. --barefoot Chris

everyone's comments have made me feel much better, like im not alone out here in NC, USA...*sniff*...thank you, thank you all! Im not letting the comment get to me any longer, I'm going to keep doing what I have been for a full week now, Cube 'till my 3x3x3 LOOKS like I peeled all the stickers off :D. -Kyle Bryant --- "Chris Sz..." <s2chris2@...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Lars > Petrus > <lars@l...> wrote: > > The good thing with knowing what people are going > to say is that > you > > can prepare the perfect response. If anyone has a > really good one, > do > > share! I usually say that that is much slower than > my way. > > > > The sticker comment really doesn't anger me that > much except when > some people just say like it's the funniest thing in > the world and > expect me to luagh as much they are. > > I uaually say "if you're going to cheat at least > take it apart and > reassemble it" or say "wel, my way's a lot faster". > > This comment also parallels the "where are your > shoes???" that I > many times a day. > > --barefoot Chris > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

I'd say that (like Chris said) 95% of people I meet say, "I just peel the stickers off" or some variation of that. But on top of that, approx. 50% of people will say: "What's the trick?", or, "What's the secret?" And I never know what to say to this... usually I just say, "there is no trick, it's different every single time" Since these reactions of people are so predictable, we should really put our thoughts together and get a list of replies to these comments. I like the comment of "You look like the kind of guy who would peel the stickers off" that was mentioned. I'll try to think of some good ones -ferret

This actually happened to me today when I was eating lunch in the cafeteria. I was racing the guy that got me started cubing about a year ago (beat him 4 or 5 times in a row :-) ) and a lot of people were coming over to see what was going on. A few of them said that they solved it before, just by peeling the stickers off. I was too busy trying to look ahead and beat the other guy to actually try and come up with a smart answer, and apparently it paid off. Doug

Where in NC are you from? I live in Raleigh. Also Jim Mittan who does a lot of blindfolded stuff lives in Charlotte. Maybe we could do an NC get together or something... I know I've asked this before but a lot of new people have joined recently - anyone here from North Carolina? Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > everyone's comments have made me feel much better, > like im not alone out here in NC, > USA...*sniff*...thank you, thank you all! > > Im not letting the comment get to me any longer, I'm > going to keep doing what I have been for a full week > now, Cube 'till my 3x3x3 LOOKS like I peeled all the > stickers off :D. > -Kyle Bryant > --- "Chris Sz..." <s2chris2@h...> wrote: > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Lars > > Petrus > > <lars@l...> wrote: > > > The good thing with knowing what people are going > > to say is that > > you > > > can prepare the perfect response. If anyone has a > > really good one, > > do > > > share! I usually say that that is much slower than > > my way. > > > > > > > The sticker comment really doesn't anger me that > > much except when > > some people just say like it's the funniest thing in > > the world and > > expect me to luagh as much they are. > > > > I uaually say "if you're going to cheat at least > > take it apart and > > reassemble it" or say "wel, my way's a lot faster". > > > > This comment also parallels the "where are your > > shoes???" that I > > many times a day. > > > > --barefoot Chris > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "ferret511" <ferret511@y...> wrote: > I'd say that (like Chris said) 95% of people I meet say, "I just peel > the stickers off" or some variation of that. But on top of that, > approx. 50% of people will say: > > "What's the trick?", or, > > "What's the secret?" > > And I never know what to say to this... usually I just say, "there is > no trick, it's different every single time" > > Since these reactions of people are so predictable, we should really > put our thoughts together and get a list of replies to these > comments. > > I like the comment of "You look like the kind of guy who would peel > the stickers off" that was mentioned. > > I'll try to think of some good ones > > -ferret "I just peel the stickers off" "Really? Why did you go to all that trouble? The puzzle's easy." DJ

Today in English class a girl behind me said "Holy ****, I coulda sworn that thing had colors everywhere just a few seconds ago! I didnt think it was possible to solve one of those!" At least it was original. Doug

I do a lot of cubing on the city bus at Purdue (yes, I live in Owen Hall) so I tend to have my backpack with me. It is so much fun to look at the expressions on people's faces when they give you the sticker comment and you pull out a tiled 5x5x5. However, the comment that gets to me is, "I tried solving that for an hour once but I didn't get it." I really don't have a non-mean or "better than thou" answer to that one. I'd like the people to go out and get one rather than say, "That was cool, but that guy had the asshole gene." "You look like a guy who would pull off the stickers" <- Very nice Or "I'm psychic too... I'll bet you were going to say you pull the stickers off." (I've even had some people believe me) Fox

In the review of Rubik's Rubrics at http://www.americanscientist.org/template/BookRevi ewTypeDetail/assetid/25829 it is stated that there is a known position at distance 21 in the HTM. Does anyone know what this position is, or might be? Thanks! -tom

Tom, That's David Joyner's book... He's just quoting old results... in the "old days" we didn't have optimal solvers, just sub-optimal. I recall that before the 20 move process for 12-flip was found Herbert Kociemba and others found a 21 move solution. Mark On Friday 09 January 2004 06:26 pm, tomrokicki wrote: > In the review of Rubik's Rubrics at > > http://www.americanscientist.org/template/BookRevi > ewTypeDetail/assetid/25829 > > it is stated that there is a known position at distance 21 in the HTM. > Does anyone know what this position is, or might be? > > Thanks! > > -tom > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Or another possibility is that the 26 q process is 21 q+h _but_ there is also another process which can solve 12-flip + 4 dot in 20 q+h moves BUT needs 28 quarter turns. The known limit is still 20 q+h turns. On Friday 09 January 2004 06:34 pm, Mark Longridge wrote: > Tom, > > That's David Joyner's book... > > He's just quoting old results... in the "old days" > we didn't have optimal solvers, just sub-optimal. > I recall that before the 20 move process for 12-flip > was found Herbert Kociemba and others found > a 21 move solution. > > Mark

The one that gets me most is: "I messed around with that thing for a day once and accidently solved it" damn liars... -Richard --- qwerty1110 <qwerty1110@...> wrote: > I do a lot of cubing on the city bus at Purdue (yes, > I live in Owen > Hall) so I tend to have my backpack with me. It is > so much fun to > look at the expressions on people's faces when they > give you the > sticker comment and you pull out a tiled 5x5x5. > > However, the comment that gets to me is, "I tried > solving that for > an hour once but I didn't get it." > I really don't have a non-mean or "better than thou" > answer to that > one. I'd like the people to go out and get one > rather than > say, "That was cool, but that guy had the asshole > gene." > > "You look like a guy who would pull off the > stickers" <- Very nice > Or > "I'm psychic too... I'll bet you were going to say > you pull the > stickers off." (I've even had some people believe > me) > > Fox > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

Hi Chris, What I'd like to see in a tournament is something like this: when you get down to the final three contestants, each contestant has ten or twelve cubes to unscramble. The timer begins when the cloth is removed from over the cubes and stops when the final solved cube is placed in a particular place. Whoever unscrambles all the cubes first wins. No if and, or buts, no pops, no preinspection time. The entire time you spend unscrambling the cube is counted. I only express this as an idea. I doubt anyone is interested in doing it this way. David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > I personally would love to compete in a contest that had the same > events and was run in the same format as the World Championship this > past summer. Since those events will probably set a precedence for > the way future competitions are run, I think it would be a great > idea to have a contest that is run exactly like the Championships so > that we can all practice the events the way we are going to have to > do them in 2005. That of course assumes the contest is still on for > 2005 but you see my point. I'm not saying that you have to set up > your contest this way Raul, I'm just throwing out ideas for everyone > to discuss. We might as well all be very familiar with the official > way of doing things rather than just the categories we all have > gotten used to for the unofficial lists. > > I'd like to see this form of competition start to become popular, > personally, and would be willing to help out if others are > interested in the idea. Perhaps Raul, if you are interested you > could include maybe a few of the official categories in your > contest. I'm not saying you have to, again I'm just throwing out > ideas. > > Would anyone be interested in the idea of doing a Sunday contest > style competition but with official competition rules and events? > Perhaps we can all discuss and see what everyone thinks. > > Chris > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Raul <topgunryu@y...> > wrote: > > Whoa, your post just made me realize something. Thanks! :-D > > > > - Raul > > > > > > Michael Atkinson <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > No offense, or anything, but since there's already a contest > > identical to the one you've 'created,' what's the point? > > The Fewest Moves Contest and the Wednesday contest, for example, > > were different, so they had a point. Make a one handed contest, or > a > > foot cubing contest, or a 4x4 contest, I would compete in those. > > But then again, I'm going to compete in this Saturday contest as > > well. Eh, whatever. > > > > > > > > - hmmm... forbidden donut - > > > > --------------------------------- > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi, My wed. contest has been rusty for a long time, and it may be time to get back into business?? guys, with inputs, i could boost up the ol' WEDNESDAY contest in ' mega updated form' in 7 days (.php) with this idea, because its intention is to increase talents for urselves (esp. champs). itz all up to u fellaz x0) -boom, bm cmhardw <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: I personally would love to compete in a contest that had the same events and was run in the same format as the World Championship this past summer. Since those events will probably set a precedence for the way future competitions are run, I think it would be a great idea to have a contest that is run exactly like the Championships so that we can all practice the events the way we are going to have to do them in 2005. That of course assumes the contest is still on for 2005 but you see my point. I'm not saying that you have to set up your contest this way Raul, I'm just throwing out ideas for everyone to discuss. We might as well all be very familiar with the official way of doing things rather than just the categories we all have gotten used to for the unofficial lists. I'd like to see this form of competition start to become popular, personally, and would be willing to help out if others are interested in the idea. Perhaps Raul, if you are interested you could include maybe a few of the official categories in your contest. I'm not saying you have to, again I'm just throwing out ideas. Would anyone be interested in the idea of doing a Sunday contest style competition but with official competition rules and events? Perhaps we can all discuss and see what everyone thinks. Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Raul <topgunryu@y...> wrote: > Whoa, your post just made me realize something. Thanks! :-D > > - Raul > > > Michael Atkinson <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > No offense, or anything, but since there's already a contest > identical to the one you've 'created,' what's the point? > The Fewest Moves Contest and the Wednesday contest, for example, > were different, so they had a point. Make a one handed contest, or a > foot cubing contest, or a 4x4 contest, I would compete in those. > But then again, I'm going to compete in this Saturday contest as > well. Eh, whatever. > > > > - hmmm... forbidden donut - > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. :) --Brent --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey Brent that sounds great, I would definitely compete. I can't guarantee that I'll compete in all the competitions all the time (Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday) but I'll sure make an effort to compete as much as I can. Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Brent Morgan <brentmorganmaster@y...> wrote: > Hi, > My wed. contest has been rusty for a long time, and it may be time to get back into business?? guys, with inputs, i could boost up the ol' WEDNESDAY contest in ' mega updated form' in 7 days (.php) with this idea, because its intention is to increase talents for urselves (esp. champs). itz all up to u fellaz x0) > -boom, bm > > cmhardw <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > I personally would love to compete in a contest that had the same > events and was run in the same format as the World Championship this > past summer. Since those events will probably set a precedence for > the way future competitions are run, I think it would be a great > idea to have a contest that is run exactly like the Championships so > that we can all practice the events the way we are going to have to > do them in 2005. That of course assumes the contest is still on for > 2005 but you see my point. I'm not saying that you have to set up > your contest this way Raul, I'm just throwing out ideas for everyone > to discuss. We might as well all be very familiar with the official > way of doing things rather than just the categories we all have > gotten used to for the unofficial lists. > > I'd like to see this form of competition start to become popular, > personally, and would be willing to help out if others are > interested in the idea. Perhaps Raul, if you are interested you > could include maybe a few of the official categories in your > contest. I'm not saying you have to, again I'm just throwing out > ideas. > > Would anyone be interested in the idea of doing a Sunday contest > style competition but with official competition rules and events? > Perhaps we can all discuss and see what everyone thinks. > > Chris > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Raul <topgunryu@y...> > wrote: > > Whoa, your post just made me realize something. Thanks! :-D > > > > - Raul > > > > > > Michael Atkinson <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > No offense, or anything, but since there's already a contest > > identical to the one you've 'created,' what's the point? > > The Fewest Moves Contest and the Wednesday contest, for example, > > were different, so they had a point. Make a one handed contest, or > a > > foot cubing contest, or a 4x4 contest, I would compete in those. > > But then again, I'm going to compete in this Saturday contest as > > well. Eh, whatever. > > > > > > > > - hmmm... forbidden donut - > > > > --------------------------------- > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > --------------------------------- > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > :) > --Brent > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Me too, I need the experience =) Doug

i know of a program called cube explorer that hasn't failed to solve a cube in less than 21 moves. and the settings say anywhere between 19 and 23 i think. it is available at http://home.t-online.de/home/kociemba/cube.htm Chris fantianyuemei <s_takemi@...> wrote: Dear everyone who loves Rubik's cube, Nice to meet(?) you! I am a Japanese cubist. I am happy to post messages here for the first time. I would like to ask a question. According to `Metamagical Themas' written by D. R. Hofstadter, for 3x3x3 Rubik's cube, the number of the least move to reach the worst case is 22 or 23 in the sense of face turns. On the other hand, on several webpages I read that such a number is not known. (Only lower and upper bounds are known.) So, I am confused. At least, I have confirmed that the Caley graph is applied to prove it if possible. I would be glad if someone tells me the truth and introduces the related sites, papers and books. Looking forward to good replies. With best regards, Takemi --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello everyone. As the thread title says, I am Mike. I live in Carbondale, IL and I'm in my 3rd year of college at John A. Logan As a kid, I owned a Rubik's Cube and once it got shuffled, it never made it back to solid colors. One day, maybe when I was 8 or 9, I peeled the stickers and 'fixed' it...but the stickers didn't stick very well after they got peeled and I realised I had ruined my cube. Too bad too because a month or so later, I learned how to take it apart lol. Anyway, this Christmas, I asked for a new Cube as I cannot find my old Cube or the Square One I acquired several years ago. I got a cube and have been plying with it since. At first, I thought I was in over my head as every time I got something done, I'd mess it up trying to get another block moved. I did a little reserach online and found some of the 'secrets' and tips on how to do it right. Finally got it fixed with a little help from the booklet that came with it, now I just have to memorize the moves for each key move. I'd really like to get good at this and get faster at it. I doubt I'd ever win any contests, but it would be nice to be able to show a speedy Solve to my friends. ~Mike

That would be excellent, I never did participate in that one. I would definitely want to compete. BTW, the Wednesday contest was the one to kind of prepare for the championships, right? --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Brent Morgan <brentmorganmaster@y...> wrote: > Hi, > My wed. contest has been rusty for a long time, and it may be time to get back into business?? guys, with inputs, i could boost up the ol' WEDNESDAY contest in ' mega updated form' in 7 days (.php) with this idea, because its intention is to increase talents for urselves (esp. champs). itz all up to u fellaz x0) > -boom, bm > > cmhardw <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > I personally would love to compete in a contest that had the same > events and was run in the same format as the World Championship this > past summer. Since those events will probably set a precedence for > the way future competitions are run, I think it would be a great > idea to have a contest that is run exactly like the Championships so > that we can all practice the events the way we are going to have to > do them in 2005. That of course assumes the contest is still on for > 2005 but you see my point. I'm not saying that you have to set up > your contest this way Raul, I'm just throwing out ideas for everyone > to discuss. We might as well all be very familiar with the official > way of doing things rather than just the categories we all have > gotten used to for the unofficial lists. > > I'd like to see this form of competition start to become popular, > personally, and would be willing to help out if others are > interested in the idea. Perhaps Raul, if you are interested you > could include maybe a few of the official categories in your > contest. I'm not saying you have to, again I'm just throwing out > ideas. > > Would anyone be interested in the idea of doing a Sunday contest > style competition but with official competition rules and events? > Perhaps we can all discuss and see what everyone thinks. > > Chris > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Raul <topgunryu@y...> > wrote: > > Whoa, your post just made me realize something. Thanks! :-D > > > > - Raul > > > > > > Michael Atkinson <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > No offense, or anything, but since there's already a contest > > identical to the one you've 'created,' what's the point? > > The Fewest Moves Contest and the Wednesday contest, for example, > > were different, so they had a point. Make a one handed contest, or > a > > foot cubing contest, or a 4x4 contest, I would compete in those. > > But then again, I'm going to compete in this Saturday contest as > > well. Eh, whatever. > > > > > > > > - hmmm... forbidden donut - > > > > --------------------------------- > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > --------------------------------- > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > :) > --Brent > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey! I have recently received a new 4x4x4 eastsheen cube. My old 4x4x4 was lent to a friend in 1985 and it broke. Ever since i haven't had a functional 4x4x4 in my possession. After 2 days of playing w it i have achieved a best time of 2:10.7 and a best average of 2:34.5. Now i wonder if anyone can guide me towards a page w a clear description of the edge-alignment method of solving a 4x4x4 cube. And also i wonder which 4x4x4 is really best for speeding? I find that the eastsheen is very little forgiving for "misalignment" before allowing the next slice movement. And how can i improve my 4x4x4 eastsheen? Must i really take it apart and do polishing of all the minute parts? Regards, --cubix-- PS! Check out my CubixPlayer in the filesection of this group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/files/CubixPlayer .zip. Any suggestions for improvement are welcome :-) Will work on the obvious issue to allow larger cubes;-) No, i will not allow free 3D-rotation, simply cause i dun like that for speed. It's not made for showing off cool graphics :-P

On the outskirts of Greensboro near Winston Salem And Kernersville... maybe we could meet regularly at a central location once we get a feel for all the people in NC that cube? cmhardw <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Where in NC are you from? I live in Raleigh. Also Jim Mittan who does a lot of blindfolded stuff lives in Charlotte. Maybe we could do an NC get together or something... I know I've asked this before but a lot of new people have joined recently - anyone here from North Carolina? Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant wrote: > everyone's comments have made me feel much better, > like im not alone out here in NC, > USA...*sniff*...thank you, thank you all! > > Im not letting the comment get to me any longer, I'm > going to keep doing what I have been for a full week > now, Cube 'till my 3x3x3 LOOKS like I peeled all the > stickers off :D. > -Kyle Bryant > --- "Chris Sz..." wrote: > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Lars > > Petrus > > wrote: > > > The good thing with knowing what people are going > > to say is that > > you > > > can prepare the perfect response. If anyone has a > > really good one, > > do > > > share! I usually say that that is much slower than > > my way. > > > > > > > The sticker comment really doesn't anger me that > > much except when > > some people just say like it's the funniest thing in > > the world and > > expect me to luagh as much they are. > > > > I uaually say "if you're going to cheat at least > > take it apart and > > reassemble it" or say "wel, my way's a lot faster". > > > > This comment also parallels the "where are your > > shoes???" that I > > many times a day. > > > > --barefoot Chris > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Grant Tregay" <Grant@T...> wrote: > --- GameOfDeath2 wrote: > > Actually, for 5 (or even 4), if anyone has an algorithm for centre > > 3 cycles of the following form: > > F face B face > > AAA XXX > > AAA XXX > > AAC AXX > > ^ ^ ^ > > > > (i.e. something that effectively puts the C in the F face into the > > place occupied by the A on the B face using, e.g., the marked A (or > > another equivalent) on the F face)), it would make solving the 5 > > blindfolded a lot easier. > > I believe all you're looking for would be this: > l2 F r2 F' l2 F r2 F' > > This rotates 3 centers DBL -> UFL -> DBR -> DBL . > > - Grant Thanks - that's exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. Richard

Beside lubrication there is little you can do, sure lubricating every piece will help. As for all new cubes, first payl with it a while before you libricate it. The mechanisme is very precise, so it is must be aligned before you can turn it, the screws needs to be tights and there is very little you can do about them, but you should check if they have all the same tension. Ton --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Per Kristen Fredlund" <aspiring_to_love@y...> wrote: > Hey! > > I have recently received a new 4x4x4 eastsheen cube. My old 4x4x4 was > lent to a friend in 1985 and it broke. Ever since i haven't had a > functional 4x4x4 in my possession. > > After 2 days of playing w it i have achieved a best time of 2:10.7 > and a best average of 2:34.5. > > Now i wonder if anyone can guide me towards a page w a clear > description of the edge-alignment method of solving a 4x4x4 cube. And > also i wonder which 4x4x4 is really best for speeding? I find that > the eastsheen is very little forgiving for "misalignment" before > allowing the next slice movement. And how can i improve my 4x4x4 > eastsheen? Must i really take it apart and do polishing of all the > minute parts? > > Regards, > > --cubix-- > > PS! Check out my CubixPlayer in the filesection of this group: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/files/CubixPlayer > .zip. Any suggestions for improvement are welcome :-) > > Will work on the obvious issue to allow larger cubes;-) > > No, i will not allow free 3D-rotation, simply cause i dun like that > for speed. It's not made for showing off cool graphics :-P

Hey everybody. I'm sure many of us have tried the game where one person scrambles a cube 5 or 6 moves and another person tries to undo those 5 or 6 moves without knowing what they were. Well me, Dave, and David were in the chat today and we came up with a way that kind of works for doing this over the internet. Just put in a huge number of cube rotations between turns and you don't know which faces you were turning originally. Here is an example, try doing the scramble below without looking at your cube. R x y' z2 y x' z2 y R y2 x' y2 z' x y2 z' R y' x' z' y2 x2 y' z R z' y' z2 y2 x2 R At the end toss your cube between your hands allowing it to spin, or throw it up in the air or roll it around in your hands so you can't remember the last face you turned. Then try to solve it in 5 moves. We got to talking and perhaps we could turn this into some sort of contest. Perhaps Dan could do this as an offshoot of the fewest moves contest, or if someone would be interested in hosting this contest we could do that. Anyway me, Dave, and David tried it in the chat and liked the idea so we wanted to see what everyone else thought. Of course there are ways to cheat, but there are for all contests. Anyway what are everyone's opinions? I think this is a fun way of solving the cube and maybe it will at least become something we try in the chat room on the weekends. Anyway try the scramble above and see what you think, then post your ideas, comments, etc. Chris, Dave, David

I came up with a different way of doing the same contest: 1. Use Jess's timer to get a 25 move scramble, and put it in a file. 2. Open the file with Cube Explorer. 3. Have Cube Explorer find a close to optimal generator (20 turns). 4. Added the last 19 moves from the first scramble in reverse. This gives you a random looking sequence of 44 turns that has a 6 turn solution. Here's an example: D2 L2 D' U2 B2 D' F2 R B' L' U' B' D U' B D B D2 F U R2 B2 F R' L' B' L' R2 U B2 R' B' D B' R' L D U R'.

Hey, I thought up a way to discourage cheating and make it more random. If this is Going to turn into a real contest, there must be a lot of people doing this, so the little extra time that this may take seems worthwhile. I'm sure most of you know of Cube Explorer. There is a feature in there that lets you set the target state for the cube. Just go in and set the target after the 6 or 7 moves are done to the cube. Set the initial state as a random cube. Have it solve for that state. Clean the target and get a generator for that random cube. Put the Generator and the solution to the target state back to back and there you have it. The only drawback I can see is the length of the scrambler (close to 40 moves). Just an idea. Fox --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey everybody. I'm sure many of us have tried the game where one > person scrambles a cube 5 or 6 moves and another person tries to > undo those 5 or 6 moves without knowing what they were. Well me, > Dave, and David were in the chat today and we came up with a way > that kind of works for doing this over the internet. Just put in a > huge number of cube rotations between turns and you don't know which > faces you were turning originally. Here is an example, try doing > the scramble below without looking at your cube. > > R x y' z2 y x' z2 y R y2 x' y2 z' x y2 z' R y' x' z' y2 x2 y' z R z' > y' z2 y2 x2 R > > At the end toss your cube between your hands allowing it to spin, or > throw it up in the air or roll it around in your hands so you can't > remember the last face you turned. Then try to solve it in 5 moves. > > We got to talking and perhaps we could turn this into some sort of > contest. Perhaps Dan could do this as an offshoot of the fewest > moves contest, or if someone would be interested in hosting this > contest we could do that. Anyway me, Dave, and David tried it in > the chat and liked the idea so we wanted to see what everyone else > thought. Of course there are ways to cheat, but there are for all > contests. Anyway what are everyone's opinions? I think this is a > fun way of solving the cube and maybe it will at least become > something we try in the chat room on the weekends. Anyway try the > scramble above and see what you think, then post your ideas, > comments, etc. > > Chris, Dave, David

Hey everyone, I know I've posted a lot lately but I had another idea that I was wondering if people would be interested in. I e-mailed Dan Harris and he seems to like the idea as well. I, for one, have only participated in the fewest moves challenge a couple of times. I really enjoyed it when I did but I have to say I was a little intimidated by the INCREDIBLE solves we see on there every week. My idea was to have a ranking system, for example Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert. These levels could be marked off by a set number of moves that does not change. For example Beginner could be a solution of 60 moves or longer, Intermediate could be 40-59 moves, Advanced could be 30-39 moves and 29 or less could be Expert. I'm just throwing out the numbers I used here, but we could have something like this for the contest. Then all the times would be posted on the list just as they are now, but instead of having just an overall winner there would be sections marked off on the list to show all the solutions that are intermediate level, all the ones that are advanced, expert, beginner, etc. However there would still be only an overall winner for that week, at least how I was thinking about it. Anyway I know that I personally would be more likely to compete if I knew I was striving for say an advanced solution that week, rather than to just compare myself to the absolutely amazing solvers that compete regularly. Would anyone else be interested in something like this? Like I said I proposed the idea to Dan and he seemed to like it but I thought it would be good to see if there was interest from others too. I think it would just add an extra element and make us not-so-good fewest move solvers able to compete and feel a little better about being creamed by the really good people :) Anyone have any ideas about this? Changes, comments, etc.? Chris

Hi Guys, Seeing that the records aren't based on the entire time it takes to solve the cube, and everyone seems fine with this inaccuracy, is there any interest in posting times for the whole solution? David J

Hey Mike! Welcome to the group! I go to college in schaumburg Illinois. I dont know where carbondale is but if it is nearby it would be fun to get together and cube :D Good luck with your cubing! Jake --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "michaelsteinbach" <michaelsteinbach@y...> wrote: > Hello everyone. > As the thread title says, I am Mike. > I live in Carbondale, IL and I'm in my 3rd year of college at John > A. Logan > > As a kid, I owned a Rubik's Cube and once it got shuffled, it never > made it back to solid colors. One day, maybe when I was 8 or 9, I > peeled the stickers and 'fixed' it...but the stickers didn't stick > very well after they got peeled and I realised I had ruined my > cube. Too bad too because a month or so later, I learned how to > take it apart lol. > Anyway, this Christmas, I asked for a new Cube as I cannot find my > old Cube or the Square One I acquired several years ago. > I got a cube and have been plying with it since. > At first, I thought I was in over my head as every time I got > something done, I'd mess it up trying to get another block moved. > I did a little reserach online and found some of the 'secrets' and > tips on how to do it right. Finally got it fixed with a little help > from the booklet that came with it, now I just have to memorize the > moves for each key move. > > I'd really like to get good at this and get faster at it. I doubt > I'd ever win any contests, but it would be nice to be able to show a > speedy Solve to my friends. > > ~Mike

Carbondale is basically in the Southern tip of Illinois. I looked on Yahoo maps and see that you are up near Chicago. ~Mike --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey Mike! Welcome to the group! I go to college in schaumburg > Illinois. I dont know where carbondale is but if it is nearby it > would be fun to get together and cube :D > Good luck with your cubing! > Jake

OK, here is something I'm not understanding easily and I think it is crippling my knowledge here. I see people write a series of moves with code like this: R x y' z2 y x' z2 y R y2 x' y2 z' x y2 z' R y' x' z' y2 x2 y' z R z' y' z2 y2 x2 R ...but I have no idea how to read this. The booklet that came with my cube has a kind of code that I understand where they say: Top < Left v Right v Back ^ Front > etc.... I understand the Rubik's way of explaining it, but could someone tell me how to read the first one or give me a link to learn it? Thanks ~Mike

I made a bet with a friend that I would be solving the cube in less than 30seconds in 4months. hehe, that's me I am now using dan knights intermediate LL and I am starting to learn F2L. I have a 1min average. Have I lost? If no, any tips (besides learning F2L and PLL asap)? c'mon, it can be done can't it?

I think it really just depends on how you learn, and how fast you pick up things. I first became sub30 after a year of cubing. Some people become sub20 much faster than that. F2L and 3 look would be plenty to break 30. -Richard --- brokulo <brokulo@...> wrote: > I made a bet with a friend that I would be solving > the cube in less > than 30seconds in 4months. hehe, that's me > I am now using dan knights intermediate LL and I am > starting to learn > F2L. I have a 1min average. > > Have I lost? > > If no, any tips (besides learning F2L and PLL asap)? > c'mon, it can be done can't it? > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

I got a $15 gift card from Wal-Mart for X-mas, and I decided to go pick up another cube today. It wasn't money out of my pocket, but it was still painfully obvious that I didn't need a new cube, just new stickers. I have worn the stickers off of 1.3 cubes so far, and I am curious, how do other people resticker their cubes? I know that stickers are available at rubiks.com, but nothing will keep those stickers from wearing off quickly like my current stickers. Does anybody have any advice? Doug

i assume you are talking about those crappy paper stickers.what i used to do with my cubes with those stickers was apply a glue made by Loctite.now i think its Loctite 406,it also might be 401.for the life of me i cant remember.anyway its a clear glue that forms a hard finish. i would carefully apply that over the stickers 5/6 times over a 2 day period and end up with a hard clear shiny finish.this stuff dries real quick so you have to be carefull not to glue your finger to the cube. also its best to pull the cube apart to do this,and use those cotton buds to apply the glue.you can do more than 6 layers if need be...thats just a rough guide. good luck Pete

Hey, the following links to the notation part of my site. If thats too hard to follow, speedcubing.com is a good place to go. http://www.geocities.com/rubiks_galaxia/notation.html --- michaelsteinbach <michaelsteinbach@...> wrote: > OK, here is something I'm not understanding easily > and I think it is > crippling my knowledge here. > > I see people write a series of moves with code like > this: R x y' z2 > y x' z2 y R y2 x' y2 z' x y2 z' R y' x' z' y2 x2 y' > z R z' > y' z2 y2 x2 R > ...but I have no idea how to read this. > The booklet that came with my cube has a kind of > code that I > understand where they say: Top < Left v Right v > Back ^ Front > > etc.... > I understand the Rubik's way of explaining it, but > could someone > tell me how to read the first one or give me a link > to learn it? > > Thanks > ~Mike > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

I have heard of people cutting squares of electrical tape. It comes in several different colors. I think colored duct tape is also available, but not sure about that one. If you like the stickers you have though, the Locktite idea sounds good or you could spray a clearcoat over the stickers. I would spray a many coats to build up a defensive layer for the stickers. But if you spray the pieces, I would probably mask off the parts that touch other sides. You dont want to build up paint on the moving surfaces. ~Mike --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Doug Reed <dougreed@h...> wrote: > I got a $15 gift card from Wal-Mart for X-mas, and I decided to go pick > up another cube today. It wasn't money out of my pocket, but it was > still painfully obvious that I didn't need a new cube, just new > stickers. > > I have worn the stickers off of 1.3 cubes so far, and I am curious, how > do other people resticker their cubes? I know that stickers are > available at rubiks.com, but nothing will keep those stickers from > wearing off quickly like my current stickers. Does anybody have any > advice? > > Doug

One quick thing that the site doesnt mention is that a letter with a 2 suffix means do that turn twice. For instance, F2 means turn the front face twice, and z2 means to rotate the entire cube, with the front face facing you, twice in either direction. Doug On Sun, 2004-01-11 at 01:09, Richard Patterson wrote: > Hey, the following links to the notation part of my > site. If thats too hard to follow, speedcubing.com is > a good place to go. > > http://www.geocities.com/rubiks_galaxia/notation.html > > --- michaelsteinbach <michaelsteinbach@...> > wrote: > > OK, here is something I'm not understanding easily > > and I think it is > > crippling my knowledge here. > > > > I see people write a series of moves with code like > > this: R x y' z2 > > y x' z2 y R y2 x' y2 z' x y2 z' R y' x' z' y2 x2 y' > > z R z' > > y' z2 y2 x2 R > > ...but I have no idea how to read this. > > The booklet that came with my cube has a kind of > > code that I > > understand where they say: Top < Left v Right v > > Back ^ Front > > > etc.... > > I understand the Rubik's way of explaining it, but > > could someone > > tell me how to read the first one or give me a link > > to learn it? > > > > Thanks > > ~Mike > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

Hi friends, Welcome to the club of blindfold solvers, Masayuki! It is such a great experience to open your eyes and see that your cube is solved. And actually it is not very difficult. For those of you who are thinking about trying to solve it blindfolded, here is how I started this. First I read Olly's page and Richard's page about blindfold solving. Both systems are quite similar. I chose Olly's system because his system made it easier for me personally to memorize the actual steps I need to do to solve the cube. After reading the pages I went looking for some useful algorithms. Here are the algorithms that I use. 1) orienting corners: only the basic R'DRFDF' Ux FD'F'R'D'R Ux' 2) orienting edges: ERERERER (in any direction), ERERER2E'RE'RE'R2 (in any direction), ERERERER'ERERERER' (in any direction). I do not use a commutator of a monoflip algorithm because then I always tend to forget the rotations I did. 3) permuting corners: the basic corner 3 cycle R'FR'B2RF'R'B2R2 (and inverse), UL2UR2U'L2UR2U2 (and mirrored L/R) 4) permuting edges: RU'RURURU'R'U'R2 (and inverse, mirrored F/B, inverted mirrored F/B), MD2M'D2 (in any direction), M'UMU2M'UM (in any direction). I use the latter algorithm when I can do an easy F move (which flips edges) to set up a 3 cycle of edges. It is very useful! 5) for the odd parity of corners, I leave the swapped pair like it is until the end. At the end of the solve I use a PLL algorithm to swap the corner and the edge pair. I am also learning some extra algorithms that make harder cases easier to solve (fewer setup moves). Then I started writing everything down and tried to solve the cube step by step 1/2/3/4/5. The hard part was finding the moves you need to do for setting up the algorithms, and undoing them after the algorithms. After two weeks of practice I could do each step with a good success rate. Then I started writing everything down and then memorizing a step (step by step). This is actually very easy. Then I started writing everything down and memorizing all steps. This was harder. After solving a step I often forgot the positions for the next step. Then I started memorizing without writing everything down first. This was the hardest for me!!! This is what still gives me a low success rate for blindfold solving. Anyway it took me a few weeks to master blindfold solving. I now have an almost 100% success rate for 2x2x2 and about 40% for 3x3x3. I will try to get my times down. Memorizing can be done much faster. And with some more algorithms I can also improve my solving. You really should try blindfold solving. It is great! Almost anyone can do it. So indeed taking notes makes it much easier. Still I think it is a very good step towards memorizing without taking notes. I am not going to argue whether writing down before memorizing makes it semiblindfold solving. I think both are real blindfold solving. If you would do blindfold solving in front of people, then I am sure they would think it is rather strange to take notes first. But they would be absolutely amazed of it, with or without taking notes! Have fun, Ron http://www.speedcubing.com

I looked at your site. Your explanation is not hard to follow at all. This may come as an absiolute shock to you, but even the cube artists have to know some math. hope you guys got this notstion standardized. If you define your xyz coordinates diffetrently, what is x to one cubist may appear az z to another. Hana a kostky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > Hey, the following links to the notation part of my > site. If thats too hard to follow, speedcubing.com is > a good place to go. > > http://www.geocities.com/rubiks_galaxia/notation.html > > --- michaelsteinbach <michaelsteinbach@y...> > wrote: > > OK, here is something I'm not understanding easily > > and I think it is > > crippling my knowledge here. > > > > I see people write a series of moves with code like > > this: R x y' z2 > > y x' z2 y R y2 x' y2 z' x y2 z' R y' x' z' y2 x2 y' > > z R z' > > y' z2 y2 x2 R > > ...but I have no idea how to read this. > > The booklet that came with my cube has a kind of > > code that I > > understand where they say: Top < Left v Right v > > Back ^ Front > > > etc.... > > I understand the Rubik's way of explaining it, but > > could someone > > tell me how to read the first one or give me a link > > to learn it? > > > > Thanks > > ~Mike > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

I have a few (30 sets) of Original Rubik's Studio Stickers for sale, these are strong vinyl stickers ( 1980 logo sticker not included) Ton --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "michaelsteinbach" <michaelsteinbach@y...> wrote: > I have heard of people cutting squares of electrical tape. It comes > in several different colors. I think colored duct tape is also > available, but not sure about that one. > If you like the stickers you have though, the Locktite idea sounds > good or you could spray a clearcoat over the stickers. I would > spray a many coats to build up a defensive layer for the stickers. > But if you spray the pieces, I would probably mask off the parts > that touch other sides. You dont want to build up paint on the > moving surfaces. > ~Mike > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Doug Reed > <dougreed@h...> wrote: > > I got a $15 gift card from Wal-Mart for X-mas, and I decided to go > pick > > up another cube today. It wasn't money out of my pocket, but it > was > > still painfully obvious that I didn't need a new cube, just new > > stickers. > > > > I have worn the stickers off of 1.3 cubes so far, and I am > curious, how > > do other people resticker their cubes? I know that stickers are > > available at rubiks.com, but nothing will keep those stickers from > > wearing off quickly like my current stickers. Does anybody have > any > > advice? > > > > Doug

Ton, nearly everything cool on your site isnt available right now... >_< I wanted to spend my christmas money on a good cube but had to settle for a walmart POS cube...and I always tend to get the last or next to last one...whats with walmart's stocking? ---ANYWHO--- I was considering going to a supply store with my relatively new cube and having all the colors matched to paint shades, buying at least one bucket of each, and getting a hobby paint brush set and finding a good sealant and calling the whole issue resolved. -K --- turnthatcube <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > I have a few (30 sets) of Original Rubik's Studio > Stickers for sale, > these are strong vinyl stickers ( 1980 logo sticker > not included) > > Ton > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > "michaelsteinbach" > <michaelsteinbach@y...> wrote: > > I have heard of people cutting squares of > electrical tape. It > comes > > in several different colors. I think colored duct > tape is also > > available, but not sure about that one. > > If you like the stickers you have though, the > Locktite idea sounds > > good or you could spray a clearcoat over the > stickers. I would > > spray a many coats to build up a defensive layer > for the stickers. > > But if you spray the pieces, I would probably mask > off the parts > > that touch other sides. You dont want to build up > paint on the > > moving surfaces. > > ~Mike > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > Doug Reed > > <dougreed@h...> wrote: > > > I got a $15 gift card from Wal-Mart for X-mas, > and I decided to > go > > pick > > > up another cube today. It wasn't money out of > my pocket, but it > > was > > > still painfully obvious that I didn't need a new > cube, just new > > > stickers. > > > > > > I have worn the stickers off of 1.3 cubes so > far, and I am > > curious, how > > > do other people resticker their cubes? I know > that stickers are > > > available at rubiks.com, but nothing will keep > those stickers from > > > wearing off quickly like my current stickers. > Does anybody have > > any > > > advice? > > > > > > Doug > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

well again, my post isn't directly rubik's cube related...although it is cube-puzzle related...hopefully no one minds too much does anyone remember a cube shaped maze, made of clear plastic? you had to negotiate a matble through it (most of the time not being able to see the marble). i think there's a similar one pictured on a trade-page, but it's not quite the same. i don't remember any "seams" around the one i had. if anyone knows who made it, or knows even of an online picture of it...any help to find one would be great. thanks everyone MTP

Hi, Chris, Thank you for your message. I know this software, too. Anyway, thank you for the information. Takemi --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Chris Taylor <duct_tape06@y...> wrote: > i know of a program called cube explorer that hasn't failed to solve a cube in less than 21 moves. and the settings say anywhere between 19 and 23 i think. it is available at http://home.t- online.de/home/kociemba/cube.htm > Chris

Back in Aug 2003 at WC2003 someone asked me if I had the first page about Rubik's Cube on the World Wide Web. I mentioned that Mark Jeay's and Georg Helms' pages were earlier than mine, having appeared sometime in 1995. While re-reading the cube-lovers mailing list I saw that Martin converted the cube-lovers archives to html on Wed, 7 Dec 94 20:41 PST so this is the earliest "cube page" I can find. Can anyone find an earlier one?

Hmmm I have 100 Rubik Studio Cube 50 Arxon cube 5 5x5x5 cubes in stock and some 30 sticker sets, All are available right now! just check my buy pages section Ton --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > Ton, nearly everything cool on your site isnt > available right now... >_< I wanted to spend my > christmas money on a good cube but had to settle for a > walmart POS cube...and I always tend to get the last > or next to last one...whats with walmart's stocking? > > ---ANYWHO--- > I was considering going to a supply store with my > relatively new cube and having all the colors matched > to paint shades, buying at least one bucket of each, > and getting a hobby paint brush set and finding a good > sealant and calling the whole issue resolved. > -K > --- turnthatcube <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > I have a few (30 sets) of Original Rubik's Studio > > Stickers for sale, > > these are strong vinyl stickers ( 1980 logo sticker > > not included) > > > > Ton > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > > "michaelsteinbach" > > <michaelsteinbach@y...> wrote: > > > I have heard of people cutting squares of > > electrical tape. It > > comes > > > in several different colors. I think colored duct > > tape is also > > > available, but not sure about that one. > > > If you like the stickers you have though, the > > Locktite idea sounds > > > good or you could spray a clearcoat over the > > stickers. I would > > > spray a many coats to build up a defensive layer > > for the stickers. > > > But if you spray the pieces, I would probably mask > > off the parts > > > that touch other sides. You dont want to build up > > paint on the > > > moving surfaces. > > > ~Mike > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > > Doug Reed > > > <dougreed@h...> wrote: > > > > I got a $15 gift card from Wal-Mart for X-mas, > > and I decided to > > go > > > pick > > > > up another cube today. It wasn't money out of > > my pocket, but it > > > was > > > > still painfully obvious that I didn't need a new > > cube, just new > > > > stickers. > > > > > > > > I have worn the stickers off of 1.3 cubes so > > far, and I am > > > curious, how > > > > do other people resticker their cubes? I know > > that stickers are > > > > available at rubiks.com, but nothing will keep > > those stickers from > > > > wearing off quickly like my current stickers. > > Does anybody have > > > any > > > > advice? > > > > > > > > Doug > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

Ok I just failed a college class that I have to pay for and my parents just said that (surprise) I need to foot the money myself...If anyone is interested in buying my whole collection of magic cards including portions of the power 9 (signed and in NM condition) then PLEASE reply and I will reply with a list of cards and a proposed price...Id hate to see these go but I really need the money. -KYLE- __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

just go ahead and buy the rubiks.com stickers. the new ones are made of pvc and last for months. rubiks.com switched from selling paper stickers (junk) to pvc stickers around the time of the world championships in the summer of 2003. -eric --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Doug Reed <dougreed@h...> wrote: > I got a $15 gift card from Wal-Mart for X-mas, and I decided to go pick > up another cube today. It wasn't money out of my pocket, but it was > still painfully obvious that I didn't need a new cube, just new > stickers. > > I have worn the stickers off of 1.3 cubes so far, and I am curious, how > do other people resticker their cubes? I know that stickers are > available at rubiks.com, but nothing will keep those stickers from > wearing off quickly like my current stickers. Does anybody have any > advice? > > Doug

Well done !! As you can probably see now, Blindfold isn't real hard. The first time I did it, it took me an hour for the whole proccess. Afterwards, I improoved my memorizing system from a mental picture association memory to a direct premutation and orientation memory and my time went down from 50 min to 8 min in one go! The following day I sat down and planned an easyer algs using the cube explorer, and after a few weeks I could do it in less than 5 min. The rest was just practicing. For the 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 the system is pretty much the same and I am curretly thinking about making a web page with my advance system for blindfold. Wish me luck... Dror Vomberg

As usual I am looking towards something different, something thats possibly new. It will take a long time to develop the idea, and even longer to learn it in full, but I hope to find out its potential. I want everyone to take a look at it, be a critic, tell me what you think. And I'm not so good with numbers, so I'm unable to find out exactly how many possible situations there will be for my 5th step. Some help there would be appreciated. Thanks! -Richard http://www.geocities.com/rubiks_galaxia/newmethod.html

Although I'm a newbie on cubing, I hope this helps. U = Up side (Top) D = Down side (Bottom) R = Right side L = Left side B = Back side F = Front side Clockwise Turn - (+90 deg turn) U - Up side face R - Right side face D - Down side face F - Front side face L - Left side face B - Back side face Counter-Clockwise / Anti-clockwise Turn - (-90 deg turn) U' - Up side face R' - Right side face D' - Down side face F' - Front side face L' - Left side face B' - Back side face 180 deg turn U2 - Up side face R2 - Right side face D2 - Down side face F2 - Front side face L2 - Left side face B2 - Back side face -----Original Message----- From: brokulo [mailto:brokulo@...] Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2004 13:13 To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Speed cubing group] HELP! I made a bet with a friend that I would be solving the cube in less than 30seconds in 4months. hehe, that's me I am now using dan knights intermediate LL and I am starting to learn F2L. I have a 1min average. Have I lost? If no, any tips (besides learning F2L and PLL asap)? c'mon, it can be done can't it? Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Step 1 you should "see" during pre-inspection >From step 4 I think this can not be intuitive, that would not be effective for speedcubing, step 4 could be combined with 5 Ton --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "richy_jr_2000" <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > As usual I am looking towards something different, something thats > possibly new. It will take a long time to develop the idea, and > even longer to learn it in full, but I hope to find out its > potential. I want everyone to take a look at it, be a critic, tell > me what you think. And I'm not so good with numbers, so I'm unable > to find out exactly how many possible situations there will be for > my 5th step. Some help there would be appreciated. Thanks! > > -Richard > > http://www.geocities.com/rubiks_galaxia/newmethod.html

Hi Doug, I bought some of the really cheap rubik's cubes with the colored plastic on them instead of stickers. I then spent several hours peeling off, sanding down, and re-sticking the plastic "stickers" onto my good cube. It works really well now, and I only have to worry about the occational loose "sticker". Also, sometimes they chip, but if the piece is big enough, I'll just glue them back on. Adrian Sanborn Doug Reed <dougreed@...> wrote: I got a $15 gift card from Wal-Mart for X-mas, and I decided to go pick up another cube today. It wasn't money out of my pocket, but it was still painfully obvious that I didn't need a new cube, just new stickers. I have worn the stickers off of 1.3 cubes so far, and I am curious, how do other people resticker their cubes? I know that stickers are available at rubiks.com, but nothing will keep those stickers from wearing off quickly like my current stickers. Does anybody have any advice? Doug --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I like your idea Chris, and I would definately give it a try in the novice category :P

Hey! There was a posting here or mentioned somewhere else a while back that Rubik's.com cubes will come out in a new version with fused tiles. Does anyone (Ton?) have any idea how this is proceeding? Regards, --cubix-- --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Adrian S <fatansn2@y...> wrote: > Hi Doug, > > I bought some of the really cheap rubik's cubes with the colored plastic on them instead of stickers. I then spent several hours peeling off, sanding down, and re-sticking the plastic "stickers" onto my good cube. It works really well now, and I only have to worry about the occational loose "sticker". Also, sometimes they chip, but if the piece is big enough, I'll just glue them back on. > > Adrian Sanborn > > > > Doug Reed <dougreed@h...> wrote: > I got a $15 gift card from Wal-Mart for X-mas, and I decided to go pick > up another cube today. It wasn't money out of my pocket, but it was > still painfully obvious that I didn't need a new cube, just new > stickers. > > I have worn the stickers off of 1.3 cubes so far, and I am curious, how > do other people resticker their cubes? I know that stickers are > available at rubiks.com, but nothing will keep those stickers from > wearing off quickly like my current stickers. Does anybody have any > advice? > > Doug > > > > --------------------------------- > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Per We will be re-launching the new Rubiks.com in (approximately) February, the new improved cubes will take a little longer to start coming through but I'll let you know when they become available. Best wishes Dave David Hedley Jones Business Development Director Seven Towns Ltd + 44 (0) 207 727 5666 Fax +44(0) 207 221 0363 -----Original Message----- From: Per Kristen Fredlund [mailto:aspiring_to_love@...] Sent: 12 January 2004 12:11 To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Speed cubing group] Stickers Hey! There was a posting here or mentioned somewhere else a while back that Rubik's.com cubes will come out in a new version with fused tiles. Does anyone (Ton?) have any idea how this is proceeding? Regards, --cubix-- --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Adrian S <fatansn2@y...> wrote: > Hi Doug, > > I bought some of the really cheap rubik's cubes with the colored plastic on them instead of stickers. I then spent several hours peeling off, sanding down, and re-sticking the plastic "stickers" onto my good cube. It works really well now, and I only have to worry about the occational loose "sticker". Also, sometimes they chip, but if the piece is big enough, I'll just glue them back on. > > Adrian Sanborn > > > > Doug Reed <dougreed@h...> wrote: > I got a $15 gift card from Wal-Mart for X-mas, and I decided to go pick > up another cube today. It wasn't money out of my pocket, but it was > still painfully obvious that I didn't need a new cube, just new > stickers. > > I have worn the stickers off of 1.3 cubes so far, and I am curious, how > do other people resticker their cubes? I know that stickers are > available at rubiks.com, but nothing will keep those stickers from > wearing off quickly like my current stickers. Does anybody have any > advice? > > Doug > > > > --------------------------------- > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/> > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] _____ Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/> * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <mailto:speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscri be> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This is a good idea for a method because once you get the 2x2x3 block done you only need to worry about 2 faces. It is easily visible without cube rotations. Have tried generating any algs yet? jake --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "richy_jr_2000" <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > As usual I am looking towards something different, something thats > possibly new. It will take a long time to develop the idea, and > even longer to learn it in full, but I hope to find out its > potential. I want everyone to take a look at it, be a critic, tell > me what you think. And I'm not so good with numbers, so I'm unable > to find out exactly how many possible situations there will be for > my 5th step. Some help there would be appreciated. Thanks! > > -Richard > > http://www.geocities.com/rubiks_galaxia/newmethod.html

i have a question for those that use the standard F2L method to locate CE pairs and solve them. suppose you just finished solving the first CE pair and while solving the first pair, you locate a second pair. now suppose this next pair has the corner already in the cross layer (but not in the correct slot), and suppose the edge piece is also already in the middle layer (but not in the correct slot). so neither the corner nor the edge is in the top layer, and neither the corner nor the edge is in it's correct slot. most lists of F2L algs do not seem to provide specific algs for this situation. do you: 1. find a different CE pair and solve it instead 2. use 3 moves to kick the edge up to the LL and solve as a normal CE pair 3. use 3 moves to kick the corner up to the LL and solve as a normal CE pair 4. solve the CE pair directly with a special alg for that particular situation. do you find that when this situation comes up it slows you down significantly? i generall do #2 and find that it tends to throw my F2L out of rhythm. -eric

I successfully took all 8 corners off my EastSheen cube, thanks to that wonderful picture. I'd always wanted to get in, and see the guts of that thing. It was also a good opportunity to clean out some of the lint that it collects while travelling in my pockets. To those who also want to take apart their EastSheen 2x2x2 cubes, just be warned... I found that it was a bit difficult to push the clip as well, and one of mine ended up cracking a little bit on the way out (but only one). I think now that I've done it once, and I'm familiar with the procedure, I'd be able to do it in the future without a problem. I'm a little curious if there's any good way to take apart the kernel, as well... Looks like 3 of the centers just clip in, but I don't see any good way to free them. Perhaps my curiousity will kill my puzzle - I don't know. - Grant --- Ton wrote: > Yep, I did remove the corner on a already assembled cube. It is > very easy if you know where to put the screw driver in and push > that "thing" . I can not take pictures of it beacuse it is inside > the cube.It took me some time to figure , so yes it is tricky --- Stefan Pochmann wrote: > I just got an already assembled 2x2 and an assembly one (both > Eastsheen). After just putting that "thing" (you know what I part > mean) inside a corner cubie I tried to remove just that. It did > work, but it is quite stuck inside the cubie even without the clip. > I can not just slide it out. > > Did you actually succeed in doing this on a fully assembled cube or > is it just theory? Any tips would be appreciated, since I can't > figure out how to pull the clip and at the same time use enough > (but not too much) force to pull the corner cubie away. Having just > the two pieces I can bring another screwdriver under the piece > inside the cubie and *push* it out, but I can't do both things on > the assembled cube. --- Ton wrote: > The Eastheen is a bit tricky but you must push to the outside with > a screw driver a little platic clip inside the corner and the > corner can slide off > http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/images/Eastheen%202x2x2.JPG

--- David J wrote: > Seeing that the records aren't based on the entire time it takes to > solve the cube, and everyone seems fine with this inaccuracy, is > there any interest in posting times for the whole solution? Okay, I'll bite... I'd never really thought about it, but the preinspection is really just part of the time necessary in solving the cube. We tend to merely time how fast we can implement the solution, but not how long it takes us to actually solve the puzzle - we don't include the planning time, in which we are actually mentally solving; formulating the first part of the solution prior to implementation. I think it would be interesting/informative to take times/averages with no preinspection. While the times wouldn't be as impressive (expecting they'd be higher), and they can't be compared directly to existing records, it is a more realistic view of how long it is actually taking to solve the puzzle. - Grant

I would actually recommend nail polish. A couple of my favorite brands are Wet 'n' Wild (found in Target, Walmart, Cub, Dominick's, etc. - all over the place) and Capri (found at Walgreens). If I had found Capri first, I probably would have all of my colors in that brand. It applies very thinly, so many coats are needed, but it dries very quickly and seems to dry into a fairly hard layer. Wet 'n' Wild takes a long time for each coat to dry. I repainted my main 3x3 cube several months ago (just before WC'03 in August), and it still looks about as good as new. Anyways, as far as color, I know Capri's "evening sky" is a great orange, and based on the colors available, you could probably find all 6 colors (go to http://www.walgreens.com and search for Capri) for your cube, or even 12 for your megaminx :-P After I get the color I want (through adequate coats), I apply 1-2 coats of a clear nail protector (I again use Wet 'n' Wild). To give it a nice, final protective layer, I use one coat of hard as nails (applied thickly). Once it's had a chance to dry, I then put it into the oven at low temperature (about 150 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20-30 minutes. After letting it cool, I will sometimes put it back in for another 20-30 minutes if it doesn't seem to be fully set yet. It is a little time consuming, but I've been using this cube for a couple years now, and figure it will last me for years and never need to be repainted or restickered again. Electrical tape works, but I don't think it looks quite as nice. Also (same for duct tape), make sure you can find all the colors before you start applying. Either way, stickers are stickers, and will, eventually, peel up (even if they don't lose their color). A protective layer on top of stickers may be all you need to keep them looking good for the life of the cube - I don't know. Whatever you decide - good luck! - Grant --- Kyle Bryant wrote: > I was considering going to a supply store with my relatively new > cube and having all the colors matched to paint shades, buying at > least one bucket of each, and getting a hobby paint brush set and > finding a good sealant and calling the whole issue resolved. --- michaelsteinbach wrote: > I have heard of people cutting squares of electrical tape... > I think colored duct tape is also available, but not sure about > that one... the Locktite idea sounds good or you could spray a > clearcoat over the stickers. --- Doug Reed wrote: > ... it was still painfully obvious that I didn't need a new cube, > just new stickers... I am curious, how do other people resticker > their cubes?

> neither the corner nor the edge is in the top layer, and neither > the corner nor the edge is in it's correct slot. I mostly do the pairs intuitively. If I was in this situation and had no other pairs in mind, then I would kick the edge up first. If however both pieces are already correctly oriented, then I would turn D to bring them together, and then kick them both up to U. Maybe some people would do this even if they weren't oriented correctly, but not me. I'm around 40-43 seconds average now on a good day, with a non-lucky best of 36sec. Jaap

Richard, Interesting solution idea... Here's my thoughts: Given that people do it already for the Petrus method, steps 1-2 are obviously solid. It seems to me that step 3 is pretty trivial, but step 4 is not really intuitive. I would have to agree with Ton that this should be combined, either with step 5 or perhaps even with step 3. If you are looking to do step 5 in one algorithm, then I think (if I figured it right) you're looking at using one of 480 possible algs (counting all inverses/mirrors as separate cases). Depending on the lengths of these algs and their ease of recognition, though, maybe this is what you are looking for. It sounds like too ambitious of an approach for me, though. - Grant --- Ton wrote: > Step 1 you should "see" during pre-inspection > > From step 4 I think this can not be intuitive, that would not be > effective for speedcubing, step 4 could be combined with 5 --- Richard wrote: > As usual I am looking towards something different, something thats > possibly new. It will take a long time to develop the idea, and > even longer to learn it in full, but I hope to find out its > potential. I want everyone to take a look at it, be a critic, tell > me what you think. And I'm not so good with numbers, so I'm unable > to find out exactly how many possible situations there will be for > my 5th step. Some help there would be appreciated. Thanks! > > http://www.geocities.com/rubiks_galaxia/newmethod.html

When locating CE pairs, I look in the LL for either an edge or a corner. I then find it's partner and go from there. That way, I avoid getting into such a situation, for the most part. If there are no F2L corners or edges on the LL, then I'll pull one down and go from there (rather than trying direct insertion). When I run into that rare situation (I believe occuring only 1 in 1225 times), I would assume it probably slows me down, but it doesn't occur frequently enough for me to really know for sure. - Grant --- Eric Johanson wrote: > i have a question for those that use the standard F2L method to > locate CE pairs and solve them. suppose you just finished solving > the first CE pair and while solving the first pair, you locate a > second pair. > > now suppose this next pair has the corner already in the cross > layer (but not in the correct slot), and suppose the edge piece is > also already in the middle layer (but not in the correct slot). so > neither the corner nor the edge is in the top layer, and neither > the corner nor the edge is in it's correct slot. > most lists of F2L algs do not seem to provide specific algs for > this situation. > > do you: > 1. find a different CE pair and solve it instead > 2. use 3 moves to kick the edge up to the LL and solve as a normal > CE pair > 3. use 3 moves to kick the corner up to the LL and solve as a > normal CE pair > 4. solve the CE pair directly with a special alg for that > particular situation. > > do you find that when this situation comes up it slows you down > significantly? i generall do #2 and find that it tends to throw my > F2L out of rhythm. > > -eric

I think it is a open problem. I have a table of new potitions (with the q turn) using "n" movements. The table is the following movements;new positions 0q 1 1q 12 2q 114 3q 1068 4q 10011 5q 93840 6q 878880 7q 8221632 8q 76843595 9q 717789576 10q 6701836858 11q 62549615248 12q 583570100997 Febrary 1995 I don't know if someone have study more of 12 movements with a computer. Is there a better table?

I have sad news to report to anyone considering getting megaminx tiles. I have just received word from Uwe Meffert that they are out of tiles and don't plan to produce anymore because of the cost involved. - Grant

That's very similar to another idea I had, only differing in the task state, thanks to the non-uniform distribution among cube states when you use "random scrambling algorithms". I'll post another message about this in a minute. Anyway, my idea would be to randomly pick a cube state with distance 6, then use that one. Not to choose a scrambling algorithm. Btw, since I think this type of solving depends a little bit on luck there should maybe be several tasks, not just one. And maybe also for different distances, say from 3 to 10. Stefan --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "qwerty1110" <qwerty1110@h...> wrote: > Hey, I thought up a way to discourage cheating and make it more > random. If this is Going to turn into a real contest, there must be a > lot of people doing this, so the little extra time that this may take > seems worthwhile. > > I'm sure most of you know of Cube Explorer. There is a feature in > there that lets you set the target state for the cube. > Just go in and set the target after the 6 or 7 moves are done to the > cube. Set the initial state as a random cube. > > Have it solve for that state. Clean the target and get a generator > for that random cube. Put the Generator and the solution to the > target state back to back and there you have it. > > The only drawback I can see is the length of the scrambler (close to > 40 moves). Just an idea. > > Fox > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> > wrote: > > Hey everybody. I'm sure many of us have tried the game where one > > person scrambles a cube 5 or 6 moves and another person tries to > > undo those 5 or 6 moves without knowing what they were. Well me, > > Dave, and David were in the chat today and we came up with a way > > that kind of works for doing this over the internet. Just put in a > > huge number of cube rotations between turns and you don't know which > > faces you were turning originally. Here is an example, try doing > > the scramble below without looking at your cube. > > > > R x y' z2 y x' z2 y R y2 x' y2 z' x y2 z' R y' x' z' y2 x2 y' z R z' > > y' z2 y2 x2 R > > > > At the end toss your cube between your hands allowing it to spin, or > > throw it up in the air or roll it around in your hands so you can't > > remember the last face you turned. Then try to solve it in 5 moves. > > > > We got to talking and perhaps we could turn this into some sort of > > contest. Perhaps Dan could do this as an offshoot of the fewest > > moves contest, or if someone would be interested in hosting this > > contest we could do that. Anyway me, Dave, and David tried it in > > the chat and liked the idea so we wanted to see what everyone else > > thought. Of course there are ways to cheat, but there are for all > > contests. Anyway what are everyone's opinions? I think this is a > > fun way of solving the cube and maybe it will at least become > > something we try in the chat room on the weekends. Anyway try the > > scramble above and see what you think, then post your ideas, > > comments, etc. > > > > Chris, Dave, David

> Rolling averages vs planned start: In most competitions you can warm > up all you want but you have to decide ahead of time that you're > doing the official time trial, or long jump, or high jump, or > whatever, if you want it to count. You can't decide after a > performance whether it was warmup or actual competition. The only > case I could make for doing this would be that it would (obviously) > yield slightly faster times, but I think the goal of what you're > trying to do here isn't to improve the speed of the scores that > speedcubers submit, but rather to improve the credibility and > integrity of those scores. Actually I think allowing averages would be *better* for credibility and integrity. Why? Because I don't think everybody will always fully fulfill the rules 100%. Restarting with a new average attempt before the end of one because it started bad is not exactly ok for you I guess, but I think this should be allowed because continuing when you know it will end bad will only demotivate you. Not good. Also, consider DanK's quote I already mentioned. Or imagine you don't actually intend to start an average but just cube a bit and get a few very fast times. With strict rules you should not be allowed to use those past times to start an average. But that sucks. So because I don't think everybody would always use the strict rules and because I even think it's bad if you do so (because it hurts your motivation) I'd say people will submit average records that they achieved differently. Some with the strict non-rolling average rules, some without. So in order to give everybody the same treatment I'd vote in favour of rolling averages. I'd vote against pops, btw. Same reason: treat everybody the same way, as explained by others. Stefan

--- Stefan Pochmann wrote: > So in order to give everybody the same treatment I'd vote in favour > of rolling averages. > > I'd vote against pops, btw. Same reason: treat everybody the same > way, as explained by others. That brings an interesting question to mind - if you use rolling averages and allow 1 pop per average, what do you do if you get a second pop? Do you have to start a new average, or can you just start the average with the first solve following the first pop? For example, let's say I do 5 clean solves, and then pop. Then I do another 5 clean solves and pop again. Am I 5 solves (plus a pop) into my average, or am I 0 solves (with no pops) into my average? It would seem that if rolling averages is what you want, then you wouldn't reset to 0, but instead would just go from the first solve after the first pop. How do you guys do it? I currently don't use rolling averages, so I don't know. - Grant

Ok, If you are in NC and ARE IN FAVOR of meeting up once or regularly soon then please make this known...otherwise I have other things to plan and do. thanks, K --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey everybody. I'm sure many of us have tried the game where one > person scrambles a cube 5 or 6 moves and another person tries to > undo those 5 or 6 moves without knowing what they were. Well me, > Dave, and David were in the chat today and we came up with a way > that kind of works for doing this over the internet. Just put in a > huge number of cube rotations between turns and you don't know which > faces you were turning originally. Here is an example, try doing > the scramble below without looking at your cube. > > R x y' z2 y x' z2 y R y2 x' y2 z' x y2 z' R y' x' z' y2 x2 y' z R z' > y' z2 y2 x2 R > > At the end toss your cube between your hands allowing it to spin, or > throw it up in the air or roll it around in your hands so you can't > remember the last face you turned. Then try to solve it in 5 moves. > > We got to talking and perhaps we could turn this into some sort of > contest. Perhaps Dan could do this as an offshoot of the fewest > moves contest, or if someone would be interested in hosting this > contest we could do that. Anyway me, Dave, and David tried it in > the chat and liked the idea so we wanted to see what everyone else > thought. Of course there are ways to cheat, but there are for all > contests. Anyway what are everyone's opinions? I think this is a > fun way of solving the cube and maybe it will at least become > something we try in the chat room on the weekends. Anyway try the > scramble above and see what you think, then post your ideas, > comments, etc. > > Chris, Dave, David Chris, I think this is an excellent idea. I tried a few ideas for implementing this, but I don't know whether these ideas are useful or not. One idea is to use two cubes. Put the 6 or 7 moves on a cube, put it aside, and put the next 6 or 7 moves on another cube; then go back and solve the first, then put the next 6 or seven moves on it, and solve the second cube, and so forth. Perhaps this will work better with three cubes. Putting the moves on the cube and putting the cube aside without looking at it helps. I like your idea of sicking in cube rotations. You could also do an R turn as R' L2 r R2 L' r' L' (my notation). David J

That's amazing! In 1995 you were able to explore 5.8E11 positions? Any clues on how you did that? Even storing the positions would have required more disk space than most machines have today! (Figure 20 bytes a position times 5.8E11 is about 12 terabytes.) --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "rubikaz" <rubikaz@m...> wrote: > I think it is a open problem. I have a table of new potitions (with > the q turn) using "n" movements. The table is the following > > movements;new positions > > > 0q 1 > 1q 12 > 2q 114 > 3q 1068 > 4q 10011 > 5q 93840 > 6q 878880 > 7q 8221632 > 8q 76843595 > 9q 717789576 > 10q 6701836858 > 11q 62549615248 > 12q 583570100997 Febrary 1995 > > I don't know if someone have study more of 12 movements with a > computer. Is there a better table?

I really looked and the only place this number exists 583570100997 (that I can find) is at http://usuarios.lycos.es/rubikaz/distanciamaxima.html I think this is rubikaz's web page though :) That's one huge number

Also rubikaz has results of level 10 for q+h full cube group. One level further than Jerry Bryan's calculation, but I haven't heard anything from him in years.

Just a heads up everyone, I've been gone for a bit as I had to move and they couldn't hook up my internet access until today (which made enrolling for school unbelievably difficult!) But I'm back now, and will hopefully be contributing useful tidbits, or at least soaking them up! Happy cubing, Daniel Hayes

When going for rolling averages I really only compute the average(s) *after* having solved the cube lots of times in a row. Then pick any 12 consecutive non-popped times or 13 that contain a single pop. You can also use many more pops in there if you use their time (so fix the pops and record the times anyway together with a mark that reminds you of the pop). I hope from this explanation you see that in your example you have many choices... Stefan > That brings an interesting question to mind - if you use rolling > averages and allow 1 pop per average, what do you do if you get a > second pop? Do you have to start a new average, or can you just > start the average with the first solve following the first pop? For > example, let's say I do 5 clean solves, and then pop. Then I do > another 5 clean solves and pop again. Am I 5 solves (plus a pop) > into my average, or am I 0 solves (with no pops) into my average? > > It would seem that if rolling averages is what you want, then you > wouldn't reset to 0, but instead would just go from the first solve > after the first pop. How do you guys do it? I currently don't use > rolling averages, so I don't know. > > - Grant

Hey everyone! After the very successful WC2003 at Toronto there has been talk about holding European Championships this year and possibly another WC next year. Are these plans about to be materialised somehow? Regards, --cubix-- PS! Some of us might have to plan our holidays early :D

Blah blah blah... oh wait, it's Dror speaking ;-) Yes, I do wish you all the luck in the world so you can make that web page. I'd love to learn from it. I'm also improving my own system right now and hope to be sub-10 soon (had a 10:01 today and was actually happy having missed one 3-cycle because otherwise I'd have been very annoyed by the time ;-). Btw, I've watched you on German TV when you solved the 15 Puzzle. Any hint on how you do that? On the cube I do almost any permutation in 3-cycles which can be applied to any three pieces easily. But on the 15 Puzzle it's not that easy to bring the pieces into position for the cycle algorithm. My best idea so far is to bring three pieces I want to cycle into the middle, then cycle them, then bring them back to where they came from. Stefan --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "fumba24" <vomberg@h...> wrote: > Well done !! > > As you can probably see now, Blindfold isn't real hard. > The first time I did it, it took me an hour for the whole proccess. > Afterwards, I improoved my memorizing system from a mental picture > association memory to a direct premutation and orientation memory > and my time went down from 50 min to 8 min in one go! > The following day I sat down and planned an easyer algs using the > cube explorer, and after a few weeks I could do it in less than 5 > min. > The rest was just practicing. > For the 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 the system is pretty much the same and I am > curretly thinking about making a web page with my advance system for > blindfold. > Wish me luck... > > Dror Vomberg

Hi!! Speaking of rolling averages... Anyone has a program that searches large amounts of consecutive times and finds a best rolling average? If not, i will be willing to make one, but it will be a windows executable in that case, and not the ever popular java/applets... Regards, --cubix-- --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > When going for rolling averages I really only compute the average (s) > *after* having solved the cube lots of times in a row. Then pick any > 12 consecutive non-popped times or 13 that contain a single pop. You > can also use many more pops in there if you use their time (so fix > the pops and record the times anyway together with a mark that > reminds you of the pop). > > I hope from this explanation you see that in your example you have > many choices... > > Stefan > > > > That brings an interesting question to mind - if you use rolling > > averages and allow 1 pop per average, what do you do if you get a > > second pop? Do you have to start a new average, or can you just > > start the average with the first solve following the first pop? > For > > example, let's say I do 5 clean solves, and then pop. Then I do > > another 5 clean solves and pop again. Am I 5 solves (plus a pop) > > into my average, or am I 0 solves (with no pops) into my average? > > > > It would seem that if rolling averages is what you want, then you > > wouldn't reset to 0, but instead would just go from the first > solve > > after the first pop. How do you guys do it? I currently don't > use > > rolling averages, so I don't know. > > > > - Grant

I think you could make something like that fairly easily in PHP, or I can, which could then be used at an easily accessible location like speedcubing.com (or somewhere else, just an idea). What were you planing on writing it in, VB? Doug

What exactly did you bet about? A single solve, an average-of-XX or "all the time"? Stefan --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "brokulo" <brokulo@y...> wrote: > I made a bet with a friend that I would be solving the cube in less > than 30seconds in 4months. hehe, that's me > I am now using dan knights intermediate LL and I am starting to learn > F2L. I have a 1min average. > > Have I lost? > > If no, any tips (besides learning F2L and PLL asap)? > c'mon, it can be done can't it?

I would love to have a meeting sometime in the near future. I think regular meetings would be cool too if we could plan them. If I remember correctly we had a couple of South Carolina people here as well, so maybe we could make this a Carolina get-together if everyone is interested. How soon of a timeframe are you thinking of? I could drive anywhere in the State, and the best times for me are the weekends including Fridays just to throw something out. We could do a mall get together or something and practice some public cubing as well :) If you're thinking about soon I'm definitely in, we just need to find a good time and a central location. Even if we don't have it for a while I'd drive to meet you guys. I don't have any big plans for the weekends anytime soon, so anytime in the next couple months is good with me. What works for you guys? Also Jim if you're checking the group messages what works for you? I'll also send a message to Jim to make sure he hears about it. I'm interested and willing to travel, so whatever timeframe and place works for you I'll be there. Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > Ok, If you are in NC and ARE IN FAVOR of meeting up once or regularly soon then please make this known...otherwise I have other things to plan and do. > > thanks, K > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

i was just wondering how many cubers from this page are Australian,apart from myself and Jasmin pete

I am very interested in the table you wrote below! That's great! Takemi --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "rubikaz" <rubikaz@m...> wrote: > I think it is a open problem. I have a table of new potitions (with > the q turn) using "n" movements. The table is the following > > movements;new positions > > > 0q 1 > 1q 12 > 2q 114 > 3q 1068 > 4q 10011 > 5q 93840 > 6q 878880 > 7q 8221632 > 8q 76843595 > 9q 717789576 > 10q 6701836858 > 11q 62549615248 > 12q 583570100997 Febrary 1995 > > I don't know if someone have study more of 12 movements with a > computer. Is there a better table?

as long as you guys dont mind a cube n00b who can only break 60 on a good day cramping your style I can plan to be there...but unless others reply to this I dont know if its going to happen at all *cries* --- cmhardw <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > I would love to have a meeting sometime in the near > future. I think > regular meetings would be cool too if we could plan > them. If I > remember correctly we had a couple of South Carolina > people here as > well, so maybe we could make this a Carolina > get-together if everyone > is interested. How soon of a timeframe are you > thinking of? I could > drive anywhere in the State, and the best times for > me are the > weekends including Fridays just to throw something > out. We could do > a mall get together or something and practice some > public cubing as > well :) > > If you're thinking about soon I'm definitely in, we > just need to find > a good time and a central location. Even if we > don't have it for a > while I'd drive to meet you guys. > > I don't have any big plans for the weekends anytime > soon, so anytime > in the next couple months is good with me. What > works for you guys? > Also Jim if you're checking the group messages what > works for you? > I'll also send a message to Jim to make sure he > hears about it. > > I'm interested and willing to travel, so whatever > timeframe and place > works for you I'll be there. > > Chris > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle > Bryant > <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > > > Ok, If you are in NC and ARE IN FAVOR of meeting > up once or > regularly soon then please make this > known...otherwise I have other > things to plan and do. > > > > thanks, K > > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" > Sweepstakes > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

Hi Grant, --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Grant Tregay" <Grant@T...> wrote: > --- David J wrote: > > Seeing that the records aren't based on the entire time it takes to > > solve the cube, and everyone seems fine with this inaccuracy, is > > there any interest in posting times for the whole solution? > > Okay, I'll bite... Thanks for your thoughtful response. Believe it or not I wasn't trolling. I'm just really surprised that this hasn't been discussed extensively. > I'd never really thought about it, but the preinspection is really > just part of the time necessary in solving the cube. We tend to > merely time how fast we can implement the solution, but not how long > it takes us to actually solve the puzzle - we don't include the > planning time, in which we are actually mentally solving; formulating > the first part of the solution prior to implementation. I think it > would be interesting/informative to take times/averages with no > preinspection. While the times wouldn't be as impressive (expecting > they'd be higher), and they can't be compared directly to existing > records, it is a more realistic view of how long it is actually > taking to solve the puzzle. That's it exactly. There's a whole area of the solve that has not been getting discussed. I'm pretty sure that everyone differs in their approaches to the pre-inspection time, so I would think that this would be an area for improvement. And a chance for improvement usually gets people excited. Even if people don't want to count observing, thinking, planning as part of the solution, generally speaking they might still improve their times if they developed better skills in the preinspection. Today I did a 31.27 with no pre-inspection. David J > > - Grant

I recently bought a cube after not having one for about 18 years. It's an official cube. It falls apart all if the time after 3 or 4 moves and has become really loose. Amybody have any hints or tips on what I need to do to tighten it up? I can currently do the cube in 2 min 30 sec. Long way to go yet. James

I am an Australian cuber as well, from Adelaide. I know Jasmin is from Canberra, where are you from? Kyal --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cubed68 <no_reply@y...> wrote: > i was just wondering how many cubers from this page are > Australian,apart from myself and Jasmin > > pete

I'd say some of your screws are loose and you need to tighten them (or its a faulty cube?) There are several sites that show how to take apart various cubes and tinker with the tension and such. ~Mike --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "James Coles" <minij@r...> wrote: > I recently bought a cube after not having one for about 18 years. > It's an official cube. It falls apart all if the time after 3 or 4 > moves and has become really loose. Amybody have any hints or tips > on what I need to do to tighten it up? > > I can currently do the cube in 2 min 30 sec. Long way to go yet. > > James

Perth WA anymore aussies out there --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "sheparkya" <icydeadpeople@h...> wrote: > > I am an Australian cuber as well, from Adelaide. I know Jasmin is from > Canberra, where are you from? Kyal > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cubed68 <no_reply@y...> > wrote: > > i was just wondering how many cubers from this page are > > Australian,apart from myself and Jasmin > > > > pete

find Tons link on the www.speedcubing.com site, that will put you on the right track Pete

Hey Doug! I was planning to code it in Delphi (if time allows :D). Yes i suppose it can be written in a simple web scripting language like PHP also, but not all cubers have access to web most of the time. Then again it could be possible to d/l it and run it offline in a webbrowser anyway. There are some intricacies however regarding maximum allowed number of pops in a (rolling) average. Personally i know ASP and it's not well suited for what i was planning to make. I dun have experience in PHP... Regards, --cubix-- --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Doug Reed <dougreed@h...> wrote: > I think you could make something like that fairly easily in PHP, or I > can, which could then be used at an easily accessible location like > speedcubing.com (or somewhere else, just an idea). > > What were you planing on writing it in, VB? > > Doug

Hey Everyone, I should receive a confirmation tomorrow but I'm planning to host a tournament on Caltech on Saturday, January 24 with registration at 6:15 PM and the competition beginning at 7 PM. Of course, I will provide more details later after I receive confirmation but as this is just the first time and I don't know how many people will show up, so it will probably only be a 3x3x3 speed solving competition. There will be a $5 entry fee to help pay for the tournament and the prizes which I'm going to see if a Speed Stacks Stackmat for 1st place is possible. (I can see Macky jumping with joy :-P) Anyway, more to come on this really soon. (Probably tomorrow.) Probably three rounds with best of three, best of three, and then average the middle of five type thing. -Tyson

Btw (this must have been discussed before), allowing pops also has the drawback that it allows some sort of cheating. If during a solve you notice the time will be bad (eg because you made some mistake(s)) you may cause a small pop on purpose so that you have the *choice* to throw it out as one of 13. You could of course also count it as a normal solve (that's why only doing a *small* pop). Note this is true both for rolling and "planned start" averages. Stefan P.S. I'd also vote against pre-inspection, but I guess that's out of discussion since almost everybody is already doing it...

The cube might look very scrambled after scrambling with 25 random moves but I think it is still bad because it doesn't result in a uniform distribution among the set of cube *states*. With 19 moves we know there are states that have zero probability to be reached whereas states close to the solved state can be reached many different ways. With 20 moves some are barely reached and there might still be some that aren't reached. The situation gets better with more moves but I don't think 25 is enough to give a good uniform distribution. And since I always forget the numbers I'm not even sure every state can be reached with 25 moves at all. I've done some experiments with the 2x2 space last night... I don't have the numbers here right now but I believe it took quite a few more moves than the diameter to reach a somehow uniform distribution. That said, does anyone know which Kociemba's Cube Explorer generates "random" cubes? If it generates a random state instead of a random algorithm then from now on I'll use it to generate my scrambling algs. Hmm, maybe I should just visit and ask him. Recently I noticed that we've been living in the same town for years ;-) Stefan

First I thought "what is he talking about?" but then Grant explained... :-) I'm interested in no-inpection times. In fact, that's how I did measure all my times before I found the cubing community and noticed that pre-inspection is "normally" allowed and used. Only then did I start using it, too. Btw, there already are two categories (single, average) on speedcubing.com. Look at "No inspection". Stefan

Hmm, I'm not sure we're talking about the same "thing" (I should've never used that word). What I meant is the big part that connects the corner hull with the cube kernel. Pushing the clip is easy once you know it, but you still need some force to pull the hull and the connector apart from each other. Well, I did succeed in the meantime, but I hurt myself a bit. So here's an improvement idea: First turn a layer a bit so that you can look inside and see the clip. Then stick something in there that pushes the clip open. Small enough so that you can restore the cube shape and turn a different layer. The one that gives you access to the other side of the connector, so that you can bring a screwdriver between the hull and the connector and actually push the connector away from the hull (which I believe should be easier than to pull the hull away from the whole cube, having no grip over the connector). I've lubed the kernel by spraying inside, but I'd also like to take the kernel apart. I guess I'll have to look for a good tool to press the two clips of one of the axes together to remove it, right? Stefan

> Does anyone know which Kociemba's Cube Explorer generates > "random" cubes? It does. It chooses a random number and converts that to a position. My own cube applet does much the same thing. Jaap http://www.geocities.com/jaapsch/puzzles/

--- David J wrote: > Today I did a 31.27 with no pre-inspection. I thought I'd give it a go, but I figured a single time wouldn't be very representative, so I did an average (without preinspection)... My best average with preinspection is just over 25 seconds, and here's my first complete solve (no-preinspection) average times: {28.6, 31.93, 25.54, 30.57, 28.85, 29.79, 31.71, 30.58, (25.16), (33.27), 30.1, 29.87} = 29.75 It looks like I'm not using my preinspection very effectively! - Grant

Very interesting times - I suspect we are all guilty of wasting the inspection time. Surely it is overkill to call this pre-inspection! As far as I'm concerned the pre-inspection would that short time of calming yourself (maybe!) just before the inspection! Its an inspection or a pre-solve inspection. Still we use lots more bizarre terms in speedcubing so don't mind me. Duncan (Pedantry is an art form) ----- Original Message ----- From: Grant Tregay To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2004 4:40 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: accuracy --- David J wrote: > Today I did a 31.27 with no pre-inspection. I thought I'd give it a go, but I figured a single time wouldn't be very representative, so I did an average (without preinspection)... My best average with preinspection is just over 25 seconds, and here's my first complete solve (no-preinspection) average times: {28.6, 31.93, 25.54, 30.57, 28.85, 29.79, 31.71, 30.58, (25.16), (33.27), 30.1, 29.87} = 29.75 It looks like I'm not using my preinspection very effectively! - Grant Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

my ti-89 timer provides a random scrambling algorithm of 20-25 moves, the number of moves it selects at random. Is that a wide enough spread or should it be from like 18-25 or 18-30 or something? Daniel

> my ti-89 timer provides a random scrambling algorithm of 20-25 moves, I wouldn't select a number of moves at random, at least not for the half-turn metric. I would always use 25. I believe 25 half-turn-metric moves gets you very very close to a uniform distribution; for any reasonable (non-statistical) purpose, I'd say that's fine. Of course if you're doing quarter-turn-metric moves, this should be higher (32?) and here you've got parity issues to worry about, so in this case perhaps you should randomly select between 32 and 33. But I doubt this is an issue since you almost certainly do half-turn-metric moves. Of course, the "correct" way to do it is to generate a big random number and map that directly into cube space; then, if you need a sequence, "solve" the resulting cube. And if the random moves come from a human, well, 25 isn't going to give you very close to a random cube since humans are notoriously poor at generating random numbers.

--- Daniel wrote: > my ti-89 timer provides a random scrambling algorithm of 20-25 > moves, the number of moves it selects at random. Is that a wide > enough spread or should it be from like 18-25 or 18-30 or something? If you do it intelligently, 25 random moves should be adequate to thoroughly scramble a cube (assuming face turn metric, not quarter turn), but I wouldn't recommend getting much, if any, lower than that. If you want to use a range, start with 25 as the low end and do 25-35, or something like that. - Grant

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Grant Tregay" <Grant@T...> wrote: > --- David J wrote: > > Today I did a 31.27 with no pre-inspection. > > I thought I'd give it a go, but I figured a single time wouldn't be > very representative, so I did an average (without preinspection)... > My best average with preinspection is just over 25 seconds, and > here's my first complete solve (no-preinspection) average times: > {28.6, 31.93, 25.54, 30.57, 28.85, 29.79, 31.71, 30.58, (25.16), > (33.27), 30.1, 29.87} = 29.75 > > It looks like I'm not using my preinspection very effectively! > > - Grant Yes, inspection time must be used effectively, especially if you begin with more than 4 pieces. I noticed a 3 second gap. There's something more, that usually does not appear in rules about cube inspection. I know that some people already know the centers position before starting (randomly scrambled faces, but centers don't move). This is *very* important (possibly 1 sec). Gilles.

At 6:51 PM +0000 1/13/04, tomrokicki wrote: > >I believe 25 half-turn-metric moves gets you very very close to a >uniform distribution; for any reasonable (non-statistical) purpose, >I'd say that's fine. I'd intuitively say that too. But it would be nicer to know than to guess. One easy way to measure this would be to do ten random sequences each of 17 to 30 moves. That's ten 17 movers, ten 18 movers etc. Do more than ten for more precise results, of course. Then you feed them all into Cube Explorer or some other perfect solver, and note the average length of the perfect solutions as a function of the number of mix moves. The number of mix moves where the average reaches it's final and highest level should be the number needed for a true random mix. Probably not in the sense that every single position is equally likely - that may be a very high number, if it's even possible - but for the purposes of speed cubing. Unless I've overlooked something...? -- "He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense." --- John McCarthy Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@... http://lar5.com

The idea seems to be to get to the final layer with a 2x2x1 part already solved, so there are only 107 possible algs for it and you can learn them all perfectly. I like that, as something worth exploring at least. Having done Steps 1 & a zillion times in over 20 years, it has never once occurred to me to turn it on it's side like that, but I don't see any reason it couldn't be a good speed method. Like Ton says, Step 4 and 5 seem like they could be better done together. There should be a large subset of the Fridrich algs that don't disturb the 2x2x1 blob. And I don't see why Step 3 couldn't be done at the same time too. Or put an other way, there's probably a better way to get from Step 2 to 6. Not that I can name one, but I would play around with it a while to see what comes naturally. /Lars --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "richy_jr_2000" <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > As usual I am looking towards something different, something thats > possibly new. It will take a long time to develop the idea, and > even longer to learn it in full, but I hope to find out its > potential. I want everyone to take a look at it, be a critic, tell > me what you think. And I'm not so good with numbers, so I'm unable > to find out exactly how many possible situations there will be for > my 5th step. Some help there would be appreciated. Thanks! > > -Richard > > http://www.geocities.com/rubiks_galaxia/newmethod.html -- "They say the grass is greener on the other side, but have you ever flipped it over?" Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@... http://lar5.com

Hi Duncan, Good points. I don't think it can be "pre-solve inspection" because it's part of the solve. Nor do I think just plain old "inspection" will do because the inspection continues after the hands start moving (excluding blindfold solving, fo course). How about "initial inspection?" David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Duncan Dicks" <duncan@d...> wrote: > Very interesting times - I suspect we are all guilty of wasting the inspection time. > > Surely it is overkill to call this pre-inspection! As far as I'm concerned the pre-inspection would that short time of calming yourself (maybe!) just before the inspection! Its an inspection or a pre-solve inspection. Still we use lots more bizarre terms in speedcubing so don't mind me. > > Duncan > > (Pedantry is an art form) > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Grant Tregay > To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2004 4:40 PM > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: accuracy > > > --- David J wrote: > > Today I did a 31.27 with no pre-inspection. > > I thought I'd give it a go, but I figured a single time wouldn't be > very representative, so I did an average (without preinspection)... > My best average with preinspection is just over 25 seconds, and > here's my first complete solve (no-preinspection) average times: > {28.6, 31.93, 25.54, 30.57, 28.85, 29.79, 31.71, 30.58, (25.16), > (33.27), 30.1, 29.87} = 29.75 > > It looks like I'm not using my preinspection very effectively! > > - Grant > > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > ADVERTISEMENT > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Yahoo! Groups Links > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey! I'm sure this has been discussed lots in the past, but i'm certain it's not only me having problems w the studio cubes. One by one all the face centers are falling off :-( As far as i can see it's due to 2 facts: the screw is simply too short and the spring is too stiff. Any other solution possible than applying glue to the screwtips? How about that material plumbers use for fixing leaking tubejoints? Or denting the screws like u can dent the centercaps? Any good suggestion is welcome :-) Happy cubing all :-) --cubix--

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Lars Petrus <lars@l...> wrote: > At 6:51 PM +0000 1/13/04, tomrokicki wrote: > > > >I believe 25 half-turn-metric moves gets you very very close to a > >uniform distribution; for any reasonable (non-statistical) purpose, > >I'd say that's fine. > > I'd intuitively say that too. But it would be nicer to know than to guess. > > One easy way to measure this would be to do ten random ... Actually, I have to contradict myself. Everything depends on what you mean by random. If by random, your program is just doing move = random(18) ; and doing 25 of *these* moves, you're pretty far off random. I wrote a trivial Perl script that takes a set of 25 moves generated in the above fashion, and "reduces" it in the obvious fashion. Consecutive moves to the same face are combined; moves to opposite faces are ordered; null moves are eliminated. For instance: U+ F+ D+ U+ D- D2 U- R+ gets organized as (U+) (F+) (D+ U+ D- D2 U-) (R+) and then (U+) (F+) (U+ U- D+ D- D2) (R+) and then (U+) (F+) (D2) (R+) and the "effective" length of the sequence is computed after applying these transformations. (This is not the true minimal sequence, just the sequence generated after eliminating obviously redundant moves.) After 100,000 such sequences were generated, I get the following distribution of effective lengths: 6 1 7 2 8 7 9 25 10 90 11 241 12 558 13 1167 14 2383 15 4442 16 7229 17 10203 18 13523 19 15346 20 15070 21 12796 22 9038 23 5240 24 2085 25 554 So the median "effective" length is only 19, and there is a very good probability that the effective length is 16 or less, much greater than the relative probability of a solution in that many moves. What this means is if you're going to use the simple int random technique described above, perhaps 50 would be a better number of moves to use! On the other hand, if you are careful how you generate a "random" move so it does at most two consecutive moves in the same axis, and these moves are to different faces, then you're probably okay.

Lars, that's *exactly* what I had done last night, only for the 2x2. Here are the numbers I didn't have in my earlier post: Problem space diameter is 11. Average distance is 8.755576240555664 The experiment results (10000 sequences for each scrambler length). Format is "scrambling sequence length -> average distance". 0 -> 0.0 1 -> 1.0 2 -> 2.0 3 -> 3.0 4 -> 3.9812 5 -> 4.9106 6 -> 5.7807 7 -> 6.5925 8 -> 7.3314 9 -> 7.8964 10 -> 8.2159 11 -> 8.4146 12 -> 8.5293 13 -> 8.5945 14 -> 8.6528 15 -> 8.689 16 -> 8.7125 17 -> 8.714 18 -> 8.7356 19 -> 8.7465 20 -> 8.7456 21 -> 8.755 22 -> 8.7418 23 -> 8.7522 24 -> 8.7478 I think I should be able to give precise results but that will need a more complex program. Stefan > One easy way to measure this would be to do ten random sequences each > of 17 to 30 moves. That's ten 17 movers, ten 18 movers etc. Do more > than ten for more precise results, of course. > > Then you feed them all into Cube Explorer or some other perfect > solver, and note the average length of the perfect solutions as a > function of the number of mix moves.

I'm not sure if that's the correct name for what I mean so I'll explain it: I mean a sequence of moves that makes the cube run through all possible states when you apply it again and again (i.e. when you reached the end start again at the beginning). I noticed that quite short sequences can generate lots of states, for example I think "U R" or "U R'" (don't remember which one) runs the cube through 272 states. Also, Tom once asked for the shortest computer program that solves the cube (I have an idea now, it should fit very well in 100 lines of code, but that's a different topic). If the sequence would be short then the program could just print the solution "I don't care how your cube looks now but please apply the following moves again and again until it is solved: <the sequence>". It might also not take too much code and runtime to compute the exact number of moves necessary. However, I once thought a bit about the 2x2 and for some reasons I don't remember I estimated a lower bound of 40000 for the length of a generating sequence. For the 3x3 I'd of course expect it to be even bigger. Do you guys know more about this? Stefan

I'm not trying to sound paranoid (although I'm sure this email will come off like that) but I have not gotten the skewb keychain that was supposed to come with my mini cube from Mefferts for christmas. Not only that, but I have sent them at least 3, probably 4, emails asking about the status of it, or if they were shipped separately, and I cannot even get a response. I have tried both mpg@... and support@.... This is really making me mad, I had really high hopes because of the quality of the mini-cube. I am looking into buying some other puzzles from them, but I don't want to get the shaft from their support if something else happens. I know that some other people have had problems in the past with Mefferts, but I wasnt sure who, and I thought they were (for the most part) taken care of with PayPal. Has anybody else had any problems getting the keychain puzzle that came with every $20 order during the Christmas holidays? Does anybody have any suggestions how I can get ahold of them? (an anxious) Doug

Such a sequence for the cube would have to be *very* long. The maximum order a sequence can have is 1260. Thus, the maximum number of states a sequence of length n can go through, when repeated, is 1260 * n. So the minimum number of moves such a sequence would have is (4e19) / (1260 * n) or around 3e16. A program to output this sequence would probably be pretty long. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > I'm not sure if that's the correct name for what I mean so I'll > explain it: I mean a sequence of moves that makes the cube run > through all possible states when you apply it again and again (i.e. > when you reached the end start again at the beginning).

Being just slightly more aggressive (applying the simplifying procedure I describe below recursively, plus recognizing sequences such as U+R2L2U2F2 -> U-F2R2L2) gives the following numbers, showing that 25 "random" moves is clearly insufficient: 6 9 7 15 8 45 9 118 10 223 11 556 12 1073 13 2006 14 3303 15 5392 16 7945 17 10528 18 12921 19 14272 20 13728 21 11545 22 8575 23 5018 24 2157 25 571 --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "tomrokicki" <rokicki@c...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Lars Petrus <lars@l...> > wrote: > > At 6:51 PM +0000 1/13/04, tomrokicki wrote: > > > > > >I believe 25 half-turn-metric moves gets you very very close to a > > >uniform distribution; for any reasonable (non-statistical) purpose, > > >I'd say that's fine. > > > > I'd intuitively say that too. But it would be nicer to know than to > guess. > > > > One easy way to measure this would be to do ten random ... > > Actually, I have to contradict myself. Everything depends on what you > mean by random. > > If by random, your program is just doing > > move = random(18) ; > > and doing 25 of *these* moves, you're pretty far off random. > > I wrote a trivial Perl script that takes a set of 25 moves generated > in the above fashion, and "reduces" it in the obvious fashion. > Consecutive moves to the same face are combined; moves to opposite > faces are ordered; null moves are eliminated. For instance: > > U+ F+ D+ U+ D- D2 U- R+ > > gets organized as > > (U+) (F+) (D+ U+ D- D2 U-) (R+) > > and then > > (U+) (F+) (U+ U- D+ D- D2) (R+) > > and then > > (U+) (F+) (D2) (R+) > > and the "effective" length of the sequence is computed after applying > these transformations. (This is not the true minimal sequence, just > the sequence generated after eliminating obviously redundant moves.) > > After 100,000 such sequences were generated, I get the following > distribution of effective lengths: > > 6 1 > 7 2 > 8 7 > 9 25 > 10 90 > 11 241 > 12 558 > 13 1167 > 14 2383 > 15 4442 > 16 7229 > 17 10203 > 18 13523 > 19 15346 > 20 15070 > 21 12796 > 22 9038 > 23 5240 > 24 2085 > 25 554 > > So the median "effective" length is only 19, and there is a very good > probability that the effective length is 16 or less, much greater than > the relative probability of a solution in that many moves. > > What this means is if you're going to use the simple int random > technique described above, perhaps 50 would be a better number of > moves to use! > > On the other hand, if you are careful how you generate a "random" move > so it does at most two consecutive moves in the same axis, and these > moves are to different faces, then you're probably okay.

When I ordered from Mefferts around Christams I got an error page and no confirmation from them, but my ordered came in just fine. I think I started the whole scare that something might be up with Mefferts, but I'd like to clear up that my order came in fine so Mefferts seems to be doing fairly well. Doug, I did have to wait a while though before anyone responded to my e-mails, I sent several out myself. Perhaps they are just busy lately due to the holidays, I'm really not sure. Anyway Uwe Meffert eventually e-mailed me back to clear up my situation, so I'm assuming just keep trying to send e-mails and they should respond, perhaps they are just bogged down. I'm probably one of the people you read about that my order got weird, but mine turned out alright. I'm assuming they are just backed up, so keep trying to get in touch with them and it should hopefully work out. Let us know how it goes, Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Doug Reed <dougreed@h...> wrote: > I'm not trying to sound paranoid (although I'm sure this email will come > off like that) but I have not gotten the skewb keychain that was > supposed to come with my mini cube from Mefferts for christmas. Not > only that, but I have sent them at least 3, probably 4, emails asking > about the status of it, or if they were shipped separately, and I cannot > even get a response. > > I have tried both mpg@m... and support@m... This is > really making me mad, I had really high hopes because of the quality of > the mini-cube. I am looking into buying some other puzzles from them, > but I don't want to get the shaft from their support if something else > happens. > > I know that some other people have had problems in the past with > Mefferts, but I wasnt sure who, and I thought they were (for the most > part) taken care of with PayPal. Has anybody else had any problems > getting the keychain puzzle that came with every $20 order during the > Christmas holidays? Does anybody have any suggestions how I can get > ahold of them? > > (an anxious) Doug

Announcing the Caltech Winter Term 2004 Rubik's Cube Tournament! Place: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA Location: Winnett Lounge Date: Saturday, January 24, 2004 Time: 6:15 PM - Check-In and Registration, 7:00 PM - Competition Event: 3x3x3 Speedsolve First Prize: Speed Stacks Stackmat Timer Early Entry Fee: $5 (Before January 21) Day-Of Entry Fee: $6 E-mail tmao@... to enter. Rules to come.

I am like *so* interested in this; I may even decide to have a contest with a real cash prize! I may have rules such as: 1. Program must finish in under 1 second (on a reasonable modern machine) for any given input; 2. Final solution sequence must be < 200 moves long (say); 3. Input specification is---what? What's the simplest way to describe a given cube configuration? UFR FU ...? and perhaps I'll have categories, since there are really three important metrics (speed, solution length, and length of code). Of course, then we gotta start arguing about implementation language . . . maybe I'll allow C, C++, Java, Perl, Python, and that's it. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > Also, Tom once asked for the shortest computer program that solves > the cube (I have an idea now, it should fit very well in 100 lines > of code, but that's a different topic).

If we get enough entries, we may be able to have two divisions. (i.e., those using a beginner method and those using a more advanced method such as Fridrich or Petrus.) --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > Announcing the Caltech Winter Term 2004 Rubik's Cube Tournament! > > Place: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA > Location: Winnett Lounge > Date: Saturday, January 24, 2004 > Time: 6:15 PM - Check-In and Registration, 7:00 PM - Competition > Event: 3x3x3 Speedsolve > First Prize: Speed Stacks Stackmat Timer > > Early Entry Fee: $5 (Before January 21) > Day-Of Entry Fee: $6 > > E-mail tmao@i... to enter. > > Rules to come.

drawing a blank here...could you explain the what the numbers mean again and what those labels mean so I can analyze this situation easier? -K --- tomrokicki <rokicki@...> wrote: > Being just slightly more aggressive (applying the > simplifying > procedure I describe below recursively, plus > recognizing sequences > such as U+R2L2U2F2 -> U-F2R2L2) gives the following > numbers, showing > that 25 "random" moves is clearly insufficient: > > 6 9 > 7 15 > 8 45 > 9 118 > 10 223 > 11 556 > 12 1073 > 13 2006 > 14 3303 > 15 5392 > 16 7945 > 17 10528 > 18 12921 > 19 14272 > 20 13728 > 21 11545 > 22 8575 > 23 5018 > 24 2157 > 25 571 > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > "tomrokicki" > <rokicki@c...> wrote: > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > Lars Petrus > <lars@l...> > > wrote: > > > At 6:51 PM +0000 1/13/04, tomrokicki wrote: > > > > > > > >I believe 25 half-turn-metric moves gets you > very very close to a > > > >uniform distribution; for any reasonable > (non-statistical) > purpose, > > > >I'd say that's fine. > > > > > > I'd intuitively say that too. But it would be > nicer to know than > to > > guess. > > > > > > One easy way to measure this would be to do ten > random ... > > > > Actually, I have to contradict myself. Everything > depends on what > you > > mean by random. > > > > If by random, your program is just doing > > > > move = random(18) ; > > > > and doing 25 of *these* moves, you're pretty far > off random. > > > > I wrote a trivial Perl script that takes a set of > 25 moves generated > > in the above fashion, and "reduces" it in the > obvious fashion. > > Consecutive moves to the same face are combined; > moves to opposite > > faces are ordered; null moves are eliminated. For > instance: > > > > U+ F+ D+ U+ D- D2 U- R+ > > > > gets organized as > > > > (U+) (F+) (D+ U+ D- D2 U-) (R+) > > > > and then > > > > (U+) (F+) (U+ U- D+ D- D2) (R+) > > > > and then > > > > (U+) (F+) (D2) (R+) > > > > and the "effective" length of the sequence is > computed after > applying > > these transformations. (This is not the true > minimal sequence, just > > the sequence generated after eliminating obviously > redundant moves.) > > > > After 100,000 such sequences were generated, I get > the following > > distribution of effective lengths: > > > > 6 1 > > 7 2 > > 8 7 > > 9 25 > > 10 90 > > 11 241 > > 12 558 > > 13 1167 > > 14 2383 > > 15 4442 > > 16 7229 > > 17 10203 > > 18 13523 > > 19 15346 > > 20 15070 > > 21 12796 > > 22 9038 > > 23 5240 > > 24 2085 > > 25 554 > > > > So the median "effective" length is only 19, and > there is a very > good > > probability that the effective length is 16 or > less, much greater > than > > the relative probability of a solution in that > many moves. > > > > What this means is if you're going to use the > simple int random > > technique described above, perhaps 50 would be a > better number of > > moves to use! > > > > On the other hand, if you are careful how you > generate a "random" > move > > so it does at most two consecutive moves in the > same axis, and these > > moves are to different faces, then you're probably > okay. > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > drawing a blank here...could you explain the what the > numbers mean again and what those labels mean so I can > analyze this situation easier? Sure, sorry. Let's say we have a cube program that does a random scramble with for (int i=0; i<25; i++) move((int)(drand48()*18)) ; (for instance). The problem with this approach is frequently the program will generate the moves U+ U+ in sequence, for instance, which is equivalent to U2. Or, U+ U- which is equivalent to no move. Or, and not as rarely as we might like, U+ F+ F- U- which again is equivalent to no moves. Other bad situations are: U+ D+ U+ which is equivalent to U2 D+ and U+ R2 L2 U2 D2 which is equivalent to U- D2 R2 L2 I wanted to analyze how frequently this occurred, and thus, if 25 moves was actually sufficient to scramble the cube. So I generated 100,000 "random" sequences of length 25, according to the above one line program. For each of these sequences, I then made the move reductions enumerated above. Every time I saw two consecutive moves to the same face, I combined them. And so on and so on for the other reductions. This gave me a resulting sequence, almost always shorter than the previous sequence. The table below essentially summarizes how frequent each resulting length was: > > 6 9 > > 7 15 > > 8 45 > > 9 118 > > 10 223 > > 11 556 > > 12 1073 > > 13 2006 > > 14 3303 > > 15 5392 > > 16 7945 > > 17 10528 > > 18 12921 > > 19 14272 > > 20 13728 > > 21 11545 > > 22 8575 > > 23 5018 > > 24 2157 > > 25 571 What this means is out of the 100,000 trials, 9 of them gave simplified sequences of 6 moves long (which means that those positions could be solved in 6 or *fewer* actual moves, since even these simplified sequences are not necessarily optimal). Only 571, or about one half of one percent, ended up being the full 25 moves long; that is, we could almost always perform at least one simplifying substitution. Further, summing the columns from 1..16, we get 20,685, which means there is probably more than 20% chance that our effective length is less than or equal to 16. Yet, a very very small fraction of the cubes have a solution in 16 moves or less (I estimate only 2.7% of the cube positions have such a short solution.) So in summary, 25 moves, if they are generated uniformally over the 18 move space with no consideration for what the prior moves were, will give you a very inaccurate sample of the cube space.

OK, so the word "random" clearly needs to be precisely defined when talking about this. What I envision with the word avoids stuff I would instantly recognize as silly when doing it by hand: 1. First move is any of the 18. 2. All other moves are any of the 15 on a different side than the preceding... 3. ..., except if the last two moves have been on opposing sides, in which case it must be one of the 12 on the 4 other sides. Any further optimizations seems too smart to me personally. But as long as we know what we're talking about, it's not too important which definition we use. Either I don't understand the numbers, or there is something wrong with the second batch. If you apply a more aggressive pruning, surely you should find fewer unreducible 25 sequences, not more? And to me U R2 L2 U2 F2 gives a different result than U' F2 R2 L2. /Lars At 12:18 AM +0000 1/14/04, tomrokicki wrote: >Being just slightly more aggressive (applying the simplifying >procedure I describe below recursively, plus recognizing sequences >such as U+R2L2U2F2 -> U-F2R2L2) gives the following numbers, showing >that 25 "random" moves is clearly insufficient: > >6 9 >7 15 >8 45 >9 118 >10 223 >11 556 >12 1073 >13 2006 >14 3303 >15 5392 >16 7945 >17 10528 >18 12921 >19 14272 >20 13728 >21 11545 >22 8575 >23 5018 >24 2157 >25 571 > >--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "tomrokicki" ><rokicki@c...> wrote: >> --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Lars Petrus ><lars@l...> >> wrote: >> > At 6:51 PM +0000 1/13/04, tomrokicki wrote: >> > > >> > >I believe 25 half-turn-metric moves gets you very very close to a >> > >uniform distribution; for any reasonable (non-statistical) >purpose, >> > >I'd say that's fine. >> > >> > I'd intuitively say that too. But it would be nicer to know than >to >> guess. >> > >> > One easy way to measure this would be to do ten random ... >> >> Actually, I have to contradict myself. Everything depends on what >you >> mean by random. >> >> If by random, your program is just doing >> >> move = random(18) ; >> >> and doing 25 of *these* moves, you're pretty far off random. >> >> I wrote a trivial Perl script that takes a set of 25 moves generated >> in the above fashion, and "reduces" it in the obvious fashion. >> Consecutive moves to the same face are combined; moves to opposite >> faces are ordered; null moves are eliminated. For instance: >> >> U+ F+ D+ U+ D- D2 U- R+ >> >> gets organized as >> >> (U+) (F+) (D+ U+ D- D2 U-) (R+) >> >> and then >> >> (U+) (F+) (U+ U- D+ D- D2) (R+) >> >> and then >> >> (U+) (F+) (D2) (R+) >> >> and the "effective" length of the sequence is computed after >applying >> these transformations. (This is not the true minimal sequence, just >> the sequence generated after eliminating obviously redundant moves.) >> >> After 100,000 such sequences were generated, I get the following >> distribution of effective lengths: >> >> 6 1 >> 7 2 >> 8 7 >> 9 25 >> 10 90 >> 11 241 >> 12 558 >> 13 1167 >> 14 2383 >> 15 4442 >> 16 7229 >> 17 10203 >> 18 13523 >> 19 15346 >> 20 15070 >> 21 12796 >> 22 9038 >> 23 5240 >> 24 2085 >> 25 554 >> >> So the median "effective" length is only 19, and there is a very >good >> probability that the effective length is 16 or less, much greater >than >> the relative probability of a solution in that many moves. >> >> What this means is if you're going to use the simple int random >> technique described above, perhaps 50 would be a better number of >> moves to use! >> >> On the other hand, if you are careful how you generate a "random" >move >> so it does at most two consecutive moves in the same axis, and these >> moves are to different faces, then you're probably okay. > > > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > >To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ -- "They say the grass is greener on the other side, but have you ever flipped it over?" Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@... http://lar5.com

so in this circumstance, 19 moves are optimal for a scramble? --- tomrokicki <rokicki@...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle > Bryant > <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > drawing a blank here...could you explain the what > the > > numbers mean again and what those labels mean so I > can > > analyze this situation easier? > > Sure, sorry. Let's say we have a cube program that > does a > random scramble with > > for (int i=0; i<25; i++) > move((int)(drand48()*18)) ; > > (for instance). The problem with this approach is > frequently > the program will generate the moves > > U+ U+ > > in sequence, for instance, which is equivalent to > U2. Or, > > U+ U- > > which is equivalent to no move. Or, and not as > rarely as we > might like, > > U+ F+ F- U- > > which again is equivalent to no moves. > > Other bad situations are: > > U+ D+ U+ > > which is equivalent to > > U2 D+ > > and > > U+ R2 L2 U2 D2 > > which is equivalent to > > U- D2 R2 L2 > > I wanted to analyze how frequently this occurred, > and thus, if > 25 moves was actually sufficient to scramble the > cube. > > So I generated 100,000 "random" sequences of length > 25, according > to the above one line program. For each of these > sequences, I > then made the move reductions enumerated above. > Every time I saw > two consecutive moves to the same face, I combined > them. And so > on and so on for the other reductions. This gave me > a resulting > sequence, almost always shorter than the previous > sequence. > > The table below essentially summarizes how frequent > each resulting > length was: > > > > 6 9 > > > 7 15 > > > 8 45 > > > 9 118 > > > 10 223 > > > 11 556 > > > 12 1073 > > > 13 2006 > > > 14 3303 > > > 15 5392 > > > 16 7945 > > > 17 10528 > > > 18 12921 > > > 19 14272 > > > 20 13728 > > > 21 11545 > > > 22 8575 > > > 23 5018 > > > 24 2157 > > > 25 571 > > What this means is out of the 100,000 trials, 9 of > them gave > simplified sequences of 6 moves long (which means > that those positions > could be solved in 6 or *fewer* actual moves, since > even these > simplified sequences are not necessarily optimal). > Only 571, or about > one half of one percent, ended up being the full 25 > moves long; that > is, we could almost always perform at least one > simplifying > substitution. Further, summing the columns from > 1..16, we get 20,685, > which means there is probably more than 20% chance > that our effective > length is less than or equal to 16. Yet, a very > very small fraction > of the cubes have a solution in 16 moves or less (I > estimate only 2.7% > of the cube positions have such a short solution.) > > So in summary, 25 moves, if they are generated > uniformally over the 18 > move space with no consideration for what the prior > moves were, will > give you a very inaccurate sample of the cube space. > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

> OK, so the word "random" clearly needs to be precisely defined when > talking about this. Yes, very important. How was random defined at the world championships, for instance? They say random moves generated by a computer . . . > What I envision with the word avoids stuff I would instantly > recognize as silly when doing it by hand: > 1. First move is any of the 18. > 2. All other moves are any of the 15 on a different side than the preceding... > 3. ..., except if the last two moves have been on opposing sides, in > which case it must be one of the 12 on the 4 other sides. Yes, me too . . . but not necessarily to everyone else, who might then think they can use the random(18) on each move. > Any further optimizations seems too smart to me personally. Me too. > Either I don't understand the numbers, or there is something wrong > with the second batch. If you apply a more aggressive pruning, surely > you should find fewer unreducible 25 sequences, not more? Just a different random sample, that's all. > And to me U R2 L2 U2 F2 gives a different result than U' F2 R2 L2. This is a typo; I meant U R2 L2 U2 D2 and U' D2 R2 L2. My program doesn't have the typo because I didn't name the faces, just used an implicit ordering. [Edit, Tom, Edit! Read your messages and fix them up before sending! They live forever in cyberspace! When will I learn?]

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > so in this circumstance, 19 moves are optimal for a > scramble? Depends on what "optimal" means. If you mean the fewest number of random moves (where random means each move picking one of the 18, without regard for what went before), then 25 clearly doesn't give you a representative cube, so 19 cannot either. If you use such a simple technique, my recommendation would be to use 50 moves! I can probably reduce that somewhat using the technique Lars described, and for certain bounds on the accuracy, but all in all I'd recommend simply using Lars' definition for what constitutes a random move, and using 25 moves. But perhaps someone with a lot of computer time will perform Lars' experiment and prove that 25 is insufficient in any case.

anyone have any tips? __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

I've solved 22,756 cubes optimally in the half-turn metric, and observed the following distance distribution: 14 1 15 37 16 579 17 6063 18 15265 19 811 The average of this sample is 17.7133. I've solved 33,983 cubes optimally in the quarter-turn metric, and observed the following distance distribution: 16 1 17 23 18 284 19 2338 20 11303 21 14548 22 5467 23 19 The average of this sample is 20.6639.

I'm trying to learn the PLL algs now, and I am 3/7 of the way through. I am trying to learn 3 a day and commit them to muscle memory as best as I can. I have a pretty bad memory, so I think (in my case) 3 is enough to learn per day. Doug

What "cubes"? Random start state I guess? When are ya gonna run those 100000 derived from the other experiment ("random" scrambling algs) through your solver? ;-) Shouldn't take too long, right? Stefan --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "tomrokicki" <rokicki@c...> wrote: > I've solved 22,756 cubes optimally in the half-turn metric, and > observed the following distance distribution: > > 14 1 > 15 37 > 16 579 > 17 6063 > 18 15265 > 19 811 > > The average of this sample is 17.7133. > > I've solved 33,983 cubes optimally in the quarter-turn metric, and > observed the following distance distribution: > > 16 1 > 17 23 > 18 284 > 19 2338 > 20 11303 > 21 14548 > 22 5467 > 23 19 > > The average of this sample is 20.6639.

> anyone have any tips? http://andyscubepage.tk Go to the methods section and scroll down to the Working Corner/Edge F2L method. The F2L is pretty fast and the only real sequences you need to memorize is the PLL (21 cases). You don't need to learn more than 35 sequences to get times in the mid-30's which is pretty fast considering how few sequences you need to learn. Andy

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > What "cubes"? Random start state I guess? When are ya gonna run > those 100000 derived from the other experiment ("random" scrambling > algs) through your solver? ;-) Shouldn't take too long, right? They are not *quite* random; essentially, the algorithm is: for (int i=0; i<27; i++) move_random() ; // start somewhere while (1) { find_optimal_solution() ; move_random() ; } so it's a sequence of cubes all adjacent to each other. Those numbers are from about a CPU year, I guess. The 100K other ones would probably take another two years. But I've got a much faster optimal solver in the works.

> The 100K other ones would probably take another two years. Are you sure? I mean, after your simplifications the scrambling sequences are short on average, so I'd expect a low average distance to the goal state. Stefan

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > anyone have any tips? > hey kyle. ill mention a few things that really helped me in memorizing the algorithms that i have finished. note that i still have a few OLL algorithms left plus most of the PLL. however, i wish someone would have told me this stuff when i started, and i think it would have helped me take less time than i have taken. some of these points might apply to what i did, which is the fridrich method, but you can take them how you wish. 1) one thing i did for a while was open each of the steps (F2L, OLL, PLL) in seperate browser windows. then i would scramble a cube and do the cross. then i found the first F2L move on the algorithm list and highlighted it with my mouse. then i did the move very slowly and watched the pieces move. then i did that with the rest of the solution, watching what everything did. this really helped me realize something very important about the F2L (which Jessica Fridrich mentions on her site) in that most of the algorithms boil down to 2 situations which involve 3 or 4 moves each. the positions are b02 and b04 on www.speedcubing.com. this revelation was amazing to my F2L, and converted the memorizing of algorithms into the virtual creation of my own (most of which match up to the ones found online), but they are easier to perform when you know whats going on. 2) pick an algorithm and do it over and over and over again until you are pretty much sick of it. this sounds tedious, but you will streamline it this way, if only for the fact that you are sick of doing it and want to get the pain over with quicker. also, as doug mentioned, it will add it to your muscle memory. 3) break the algorithm up into finger tricks. utilizing dan knights (http://benjerry.middlebury.edu/~knights/CubeInfo.html) finger trick videos really help for this part. nathan christie (http://my.fit.edu/~dchristi/cube/) has an awesome word document that you can get which has the F2L broken up into these shorter 3-4 move algorithms, and memorizing 2-3 "sub-algorithms" is a lot less intimidating than an 8-move algorithm. 4) along the lines of 3, use the various videos on the net. i know jess bonde (http://www.rubiks.dk) has excellent videos for each move, and others do as well. i used to take these videos and watch them in either slow-motion or stop motion, with the algorithm in front of me, copying the movements. these videos give you great insight into moving the cube as well, so as not to always keep the F face in front in order to shave time off (at least for the LL). 5) either print out the algorithms, or re-write them and take them with you. i have 2 sheets of paper with all the PLL algorithms that i am learning, and they are all bent and ripped since i take them everywhere. anytime you have a spare minute you can whip the sheets out and practice a move. 6) pick the right algorithms for you. this always sounded stupid to me, but it really is true. i sat down one day and had about 6 browser windows open with different cube pages open, all with differing algorithms. i worked each different one out and found the one that i liked. for instance, i prefer not to use the L side and D sides as much as i can, so i picked a lot of moves that relied heavily on the U and R faces. if you just blindly start learning moves, you are going to eventually have to erase that move from your memory and learn a new move, which is not only hard in the memorizing aspect, but slows you down while solving since you have to think about the move you are doing, not the old move. well this turned out to be lengthier than i planned, but i hope it helps some. -chris parlette

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > The 100K other ones would probably take another two years. > Are you sure? I mean, after your simplifications the scrambling > sequences are short on average, so I'd expect a low average distance > to the goal state. Yeah, I'm pretty sure. The distribution doesn't go *that* bad. And once you eliminate the things I eliminate, you're going pretty deep in the tree (the things I eliminate are the things behind the obvious generating sequence used to approximate the populations of the levels that turns out to be very very accurate for the levels so far---plus one more reduction that might account for much of the rest. As a matter of fact, I should try to generate a new sequence that takes that into account and see if that increases the accuracy . . .)

So, if I understand, the screws are coming loose right? Hmm, what I would do if the screws wotn stop turning is screw it down where I want it, then put a drop of super glue on the edge. Scratch up the screw head so the glue has a better grip on it. You should still be able to break the glue by turning the screw with a screwdriver if you ever need to do so or, some super glues have a debonder you can buy too. ~Mike --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Per Kristen Fredlund" <aspiring_to_love@y...> wrote: > Hey! > > I'm sure this has been discussed lots in the past, but i'm certain > it's not only me having problems w the studio cubes. One by one all > the face centers are falling off :-( As far as i can see it's due to > 2 facts: the screw is simply too short and the spring is too stiff. > Any other solution possible than applying glue to the screwtips? How > about that material plumbers use for fixing leaking tubejoints? Or > denting the screws like u can dent the centercaps? > > Any good suggestion is welcome :-) > > Happy cubing all :-) > > --cubix--

Dear friends Altough it is a know problem for a screw type cube- the screw come lose and the center comes off-, in the last cubes I got and delivered the problem is bigger as normal during speedcubing. It can easily be resolved with some glue, please look at my trouble shooting guide how to repair this. http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/Speedcube/makinga.htm I am sorry for this, I already asked the Rubik's Studio to look in to this problem. In the mean time some supper glue does the trick. Ton --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "michaelsteinbach" <michaelsteinbach@y...> wrote: > So, if I understand, the screws are coming loose right? > Hmm, what I would do if the screws wotn stop turning is screw it > down where I want it, then put a drop of super glue on the edge. > Scratch up the screw head so the glue has a better grip on it. You > should still be able to break the glue by turning the screw with a > screwdriver if you ever need to do so or, some super glues have a > debonder you can buy too. > ~Mike > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Per Kristen > Fredlund" <aspiring_to_love@y...> wrote: > > Hey! > > > > I'm sure this has been discussed lots in the past, but i'm certain > > it's not only me having problems w the studio cubes. One by one > all > > the face centers are falling off :-( As far as i can see it's due > to > > 2 facts: the screw is simply too short and the spring is too > stiff. > > Any other solution possible than applying glue to the screwtips? > How > > about that material plumbers use for fixing leaking tubejoints? Or > > denting the screws like u can dent the centercaps? > > > > Any good suggestion is welcome :-) > > > > Happy cubing all :-) > > > > --cubix--

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "obsidian_beast" <cparlett@w...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant > <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > anyone have any tips? > > one other thing. try to break down the algorithms into groups. this makes the task of memorization seem a lot less intimidating. for instance, for the OLL, you can seperate into 4 edges oriented correctly, 2 oriented in a line, 2 oriented in an "L", and none oriented. for the PLL, you can break it down based on the shape it makes ("Z" perms, "T" perm, 3 edges + 3 corners). then with the F2L you can do it based on the position and orientation of the corner. this helps set short term goals that are a lot more reachable. -chris parlette

One more thing. It looks like I'm getting enough people that I can lower the early- entry fee to $3 instead of $5. If I can obtain money from the school, I may be able to do away with the entry fee all together. -Tyson --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > If we get enough entries, we may be able to have two divisions. (i.e., those using a > beginner method and those using a more advanced method such as Fridrich or > Petrus.) > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > > Announcing the Caltech Winter Term 2004 Rubik's Cube Tournament! > > > > Place: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA > > Location: Winnett Lounge > > Date: Saturday, January 24, 2004 > > Time: 6:15 PM - Check-In and Registration, 7:00 PM - Competition > > Event: 3x3x3 Speedsolve > > First Prize: Speed Stacks Stackmat Timer > > > > Early Entry Fee: $5 (Before January 21) > > Day-Of Entry Fee: $6 > > > > E-mail tmao@i... to enter. > > > > Rules to come.

Hey Tom I guess Perl is a good choice for this since we regularly have a "perlgolf" contest, where the object is to solve a programming problem using as few characters as possible. Only drawback is the speed requirements. 1 second is not very fast and would limit the possible approaches. Terje -----Original Message----- From: tomrokicki [mailto:rokicki@...] Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 1:25 AM To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Shortest "generating sequence" ? I am like *so* interested in this; I may even decide to have a contest with a real cash prize! I may have rules such as: 1. Program must finish in under 1 second (on a reasonable modern machine) for any given input; 2. Final solution sequence must be < 200 moves long (say); 3. Input specification is---what? What's the simplest way to describe a given cube configuration? UFR FU ...? and perhaps I'll have categories, since there are really three important metrics (speed, solution length, and length of code). Of course, then we gotta start arguing about implementation language . . . maybe I'll allow C, C++, Java, Perl, Python, and that's it. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > Also, Tom once asked for the shortest computer program that solves > the cube (I have an idea now, it should fit very well in 100 lines > of code, but that's a different topic). Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

> >I am like *so* interested in this; I may even decide to have a contest >with a real cash prize! I may have rules such as: > > >3. Input specification is---what? What's the simplest way to > describe a given cube configuration? UFR FU ...? I guess the way Michael Reid's solver program read the input is quite good. Here's the description from his README file. A solved cube is represented as UF UR UB UL DF DR DB DL FR FL BR BL UFR URB UBL ULF DRF DFL DLB DBR To input a scrambled cube, first give the cubie that's in the UF location, then the cubie in the UR location, and so forth, according to this list above. For example, "cube in a cube" would be UF UR RD RB LU LF DB DL FR UB DF BL UFR RFD RDB RBU LFU LUB DLB LDF Terje

Yeah, the best tip, and I think I speak for most people on the group, is to practice, and practice lots. You will go through periods of forgetting algorithms, so it helps to write them all down in a book so you can look them up as you need to. Eventually, with enough practice, the algorithm will become etched in your memory, and with even more practice you won't even have to think when applying the algorithm. Dan Harris :) --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > anyone have any tips? > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

--- Doug Reed wrote: > I'm not trying to sound paranoid (although I'm sure this email will > come off like that) but I have not gotten the skewb keychain that > was supposed to come with my mini cube from Mefferts for > christmas. Not only that, but I have sent them at least 3, > probably 4, emails asking about the status of it, or if they were > shipped separately, and I cannot even get a response. > > I have tried both mpg@m... and support@m... Try sending an e-mail to Uwe Meffert directly... He usually responds to me within 24-48 hours. His address is mefferts@... . - Grant

> A solved cube is represented as > > UF UR UB UL DF DR DB DL FR FL BR BL UFR URB UBL ULF DRF DFL DLB DBR > > To input a scrambled cube, first give the cubie that's in the UF > location, > then the cubie in the UR location, and so forth, according to this list > above. For example, "cube in a cube" would be > > UF UR RD RB LU LF DB DL FR UB DF BL UFR RFD RDB RBU LFU LUB DLB LDF > > > Terje How does one account for orientation with this method? My first instinct on the matter was to use the same approach as when blindfolded cubing.

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "pi3p14159265" <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > > A solved cube is represented as > > > > UF UR UB UL DF DR DB DL FR FL BR BL UFR URB UBL ULF DRF > DFL DLB DBR > How does one account for orientation with this method? My first > instinct on the matter was to use the same approach as when > blindfolded cubing. It's the order of the colors. Here U represents the up color. So the cubie FR (also called RF) in the UF position is denoted by FR if the F color is up, and by RF if the R color is up. You can understand it by putting the scrambled position on "top of" the solved cube: UF UR UB UL DF DR DB . . . RF FL BR FU LU RD LB . . . means that (for instance) the FL cubie is where the UR cubie normally goes, with the F color on the U face and the L color on the R face. And so on.

Hi, The tournament sound good, but how about an alternate first prize in case the winner doesn't want a Speed Stacks Stackmat Timer. DJ --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > Announcing the Caltech Winter Term 2004 Rubik's Cube Tournament! > > Place: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA > Location: Winnett Lounge > Date: Saturday, January 24, 2004 > Time: 6:15 PM - Check-In and Registration, 7:00 PM - Competition > Event: 3x3x3 Speedsolve > First Prize: Speed Stacks Stackmat Timer > > Early Entry Fee: $5 (Before January 21) > Day-Of Entry Fee: $6 > > E-mail tmao@i... to enter. > > Rules to come.

> > UF UR UB UL DF DR DB DL FR FL BR BL UFR URB UBL ULF DRF > DFL DLB DBR It may be helpful to note that the colors of all corner cubies are described in counter-clockwise order, always starting with U or D in their "normal" orientation.

Hey, That could be arranged. My biggest problem is obtaining money to buy the prizes. The problem being I don't think I can get funding until the spring term from my school so pretty much if not enough people sign up (and I already lowered the entry fee from 5 to 3), then the money comes from my pocket which, I guess I'm willing to do a bit in the name of the cube. Do you have any good ideas on an alternate prize? I wonder how much trophies cost. I should look into that perhaps. It'd be rather silly to give cubes away as prizes ;-) -Tyson --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > Hi, > > The tournament sound good, but how about an alternate first prize in > case the winner doesn't want a Speed Stacks Stackmat Timer. > > DJ > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > > Announcing the Caltech Winter Term 2004 Rubik's Cube Tournament! > > > > Place: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA > > Location: Winnett Lounge > > Date: Saturday, January 24, 2004 > > Time: 6:15 PM - Check-In and Registration, 7:00 PM - Competition > > Event: 3x3x3 Speedsolve > > First Prize: Speed Stacks Stackmat Timer > > > > Early Entry Fee: $5 (Before January 21) > > Day-Of Entry Fee: $6 > > > > E-mail tmao@i... to enter. > > > > Rules to come.

The midwest really needs to step up and offer a tournament. I wouldn't mind seeing an invite for a chicago speedcubing open. :P California is just too far away for me! -Richard --- d_j_salvia <d_j_salvia@...> wrote: > Hi, > > The tournament sound good, but how about an > alternate first prize in > case the winner doesn't want a Speed Stacks Stackmat > Timer. > > DJ > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > tmao@i... wrote: > > Announcing the Caltech Winter Term 2004 Rubik's > Cube Tournament! > > > > Place: California Institute of Technology, > Pasadena, CA > > Location: Winnett Lounge > > Date: Saturday, January 24, 2004 > > Time: 6:15 PM - Check-In and Registration, 7:00 > PM - Competition > > Event: 3x3x3 Speedsolve > > First Prize: Speed Stacks Stackmat Timer > > > > Early Entry Fee: $5 (Before January 21) > > Day-Of Entry Fee: $6 > > > > E-mail tmao@i... to enter. > > > > Rules to come. > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

Okay, my cube programming contest is up at http://tomas.rokicki.com/cubecontest/ I've created a discussion group for it at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/toms-cube-contest/ Enjoy!

You could set one up Rich :D It would be awesome to have a midwest contest, but is there enough competitors for one?

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth <no_reply@y...> wrote: > You could set one up Rich :D > It would be awesome to have a midwest contest, but is there enough > competitors for one? Hey, I would definitely try to get in on that! Fox

Me too, almost anywhere in the US is doable for me, but I live in Oklahoma, so close is nice too :) Daniel

Hello, I fully support this more standardized method of taking averages. Everything I would like to say has been said other than this: I feel strongly that rolling averages should be allowed. A best average that you would submit would still be representative of average times, but is a slightly lucky case, if you will. Taking rolling averages is no different than just taking many many true (true meaning start, then do 12 cubes, then stop; e.g. non-rolling) averages, it is just less time consuming. The rolling averages still represent an average time of solves, it is just a good set of 12. As long as the 12 cubes are consecutive, It is no different at all than randomly starting a true average, you just take the best of what you can average out, It still represents the best of 12 a person could put out. Doing true averages and compairing that to competitions is pointless, because in a tournament you cannot re-try the average as many times as you want, which you can when getting a true average to submit to the records site. Also: Jess Bondes timing program could find an easier way of stopping the times, for instance making ANY key on the keyboard stop the timer (which would require the program to be programmed in C++ or what have you, and actually compiled instead of using javascript, which i realize is quite a task, but would be a very nice addition) and do something such as once the timer is stopped, dont allow anything to be changed in the program for a second, just to prevent accidental timer resets. As for the piece pop.. I think one should be allowed, made up by a 13th time. This is not a serious sport where people would be inclined to cheat. Allow one piece pop with the clause "You cannot do it intentionally" and make it honor based. I don't think anyone that has really good times has the lack of integrity to pop a piece purposefully just to help their average. Just my thoughts. Please Post any ideas you have in response to mine, I would appriciate it. Trevor Holland

Jake, do you remember? We tried to get sometrhing like that going last year. I almost had it set up at Agonne. But you wanted to extend the iunvitatrion to this grouo, rthey wanted it liocal. So we asked Justin toset it up in Purdue, but he couldn't do it. Ilive un the Chicago area. It it could be somewhere nar there, Icould cime exhibit some 3d designs.Californa is too far for me, too, but I used to live in San Francisco. Hana a kostky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth <no_reply@y...> wrote: > You could set one up Rich :D > It would be awesome to have a midwest contest, but is there enough > competitors for one?

A western US competition would be great! I would definitely come.

Hi everyone, Especially to those currently learning Fridrich OLL. All algorithms you need to complete the OLL in one stage are now available on my website, with finger trick parenthesis as well as a java animation to show you how it's done. I REALLY hope to get the videos up soon too :) Also, the permutations are online, but the page is not quite finished from an aesthetical point of view. However, the algorithms and java cubes are available and working. Both OLL and PLL are reached by clicking the link on the orange panel on the homepage. Hope you find them useful! Any problems, or if you require any help with a stage in the OLL, pelase drop me a line at my cubestation address. Good Luck! Dan Harris :) - www.cubestation.co.uk

I didn't calculate the table. I got the table from a old mailing list (cube lovers mailing list).

I was trying to come up with a phrase that would make an easy algorithm to scramble a cube with for conventional means. F L U F F y B L U R R y F L U x B U D D y variate any one turn to be inverse and repeat as necessary...tell me if this works/helps. Just remember... Fluffy Blurry Flux Buddy -Random Cube Thought Brought To You By: Kyle Bryant, and all the folks at Kyle's Head, Inc.- __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

Hey! :-) Hmm Dan ... Is it only me or are all the links "dead" ?? Dan, maybe u reach those links at home cause they are local files?? *scratch* Kind regards, --Per Kristen-- PS! Was using this link : http://www.necrophagous.co.uk/cubestation/f2l.html > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Dan" <dan_j_harris@n...> wrote: > Hi everyone, > > Especially to those currently learning Fridrich OLL. All algorithms > you need to complete the OLL in one stage are now available on my > website, with finger trick parenthesis as well as a java animation > to show you how it's done. > > I REALLY hope to get the videos up soon too :) > > Also, the permutations are online, but the page is not quite > finished from an aesthetical point of view. However, the algorithms > and java cubes are available and working. Both OLL and PLL are > reached by clicking the link on the orange panel on the homepage. > > Hope you find them useful! Any problems, or if you require any help > with a stage in the OLL, pelase drop me a line at my cubestation > address. > > Good Luck! > > Dan Harris :) - www.cubestation.co.uk

Hey again! Ah, u only made claim about the OLL link. SORRY !!! That link is working fine :-) --Per K-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Dan" <dan_j_harris@n...> wrote: > Hi everyone, > > Especially to those currently learning Fridrich OLL. All algorithms > you need to complete the OLL in one stage are now available on my > website, with finger trick parenthesis as well as a java animation > to show you how it's done. > > I REALLY hope to get the videos up soon too :) > > Also, the permutations are online, but the page is not quite > finished from an aesthetical point of view. However, the algorithms > and java cubes are available and working. Both OLL and PLL are > reached by clicking the link on the orange panel on the homepage. > > Hope you find them useful! Any problems, or if you require any help > with a stage in the OLL, pelase drop me a line at my cubestation > address. > > Good Luck! > > Dan Harris :) - www.cubestation.co.uk

Hi everyone, I'm just wondering where everyone buys their stackmat timers and how much they cost, and if I could easily just go out and buy one, or order one on the net. Thanks

Funny, I just confirmed my stackmat timer order :) I don't know if there are any reallife stores, I think the internet store is the only way to get these timers: http://www.speedstacks.com/store.htm - Koen

Hey Dan, It looks very complete man (especially when the vids are up and running). Fantastic job. As I'm about to start learning the Fridrich system I will very likely use your site :) thanks! Koen

Tom, I rechecked cube-lovers and found that Robert (Jerry) G Bryan did a path-length calculation for the full 3x3x3 cube in Q+H: "On Fri, 10 Jul 1998" "This run took about three weeks on a Pentium 300." "...only the results 10f from Start were new." He told me years ago the only "trick" was to externalize the data to a flat file, then sort it. So with a big hard drive and a faster processor it should be possible to extend this to 11 moves. The big groups can't be done in memory, but if you had a terabyte of hard drive space... Mark On Monday 12 January 2004 02:33 pm, tomrokicki wrote: > That's amazing! In 1995 you were able to explore 5.8E11 positions? > Any clues on how you did that? Even storing the positions would have > required more disk space than most machines have today! (Figure 20 > bytes a position times 5.8E11 is about 12 terabytes.) >

Hey everyone! I've already made a post on this method once before, but I've made an addition. I've set up a table for all the LL situations that would come up. I could also use some more feedback on steps 3-5. I'm thinking maybe I might change the steps to: *extended cross *add 2x2x1 next Then it would be possible to go onto step 4. People suggested combining step 4 with 5 someway, but even step 5 by itself is a massive amount of algs to learn! I'm just trying to perfect it in theory before I start learning too many algs. http://www.geocities.com/rubiks_galaxia/newmethod.html

Hi Tyson, Cool! I'm getting at least 5 ppl to come :D Macky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > If we get enough entries, we may be able to have two divisions. (i.e., those using a > beginner method and those using a more advanced method such as Fridrich or > Petrus.) > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > > Announcing the Caltech Winter Term 2004 Rubik's Cube Tournament! > > > > Place: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA > > Location: Winnett Lounge > > Date: Saturday, January 24, 2004 > > Time: 6:15 PM - Check-In and Registration, 7:00 PM - Competition > > Event: 3x3x3 Speedsolve > > First Prize: Speed Stacks Stackmat Timer > > > > Early Entry Fee: $5 (Before January 21) > > Day-Of Entry Fee: $6 > > > > E-mail tmao@i... to enter. > > > > Rules to come.

It would be great to have a project to share our computer powers within this group. A hundred computers could really do a lot over the internet in little time. A "Screensaver"-type application like SETI or GIMPS could perhaps solve many cube related problems for us all. To bad I don't have any courses in the subject for at least a year =) . Besides... we might not be many enough... well if someone sits on a lot of knowledge in parallel-programming please make an effort ;) /Gustav --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Mark Longridge <zero1@l...> wrote: > Tom, > > I rechecked cube-lovers and found that Robert (Jerry) G Bryan did > a path-length calculation for the full 3x3x3 cube in Q+H: > > "On Fri, 10 Jul 1998" > "This run took about three weeks on a Pentium 300." > "...only the results 10f from Start were new." > > He told me years ago the only "trick" was to externalize the data > to a flat file, then sort it. So with a big hard drive and a faster > processor it should be possible to extend this to 11 moves. The > big groups can't be done in memory, but if you had a terabyte > of hard drive space... > > Mark > > > > On Monday 12 January 2004 02:33 pm, tomrokicki wrote: > > That's amazing! In 1995 you were able to explore 5.8E11 positions? > > Any clues on how you did that? Even storing the positions would have > > required more disk space than most machines have today! (Figure 20 > > bytes a position times 5.8E11 is about 12 terabytes.) > >

Hi, I am the Host for the 'Wednesday Contest' for cubing.... I'm almost done with the new design of the site, and i might be using ur code for it, but not sure yet. is this okay if i do? -bm c_w_tsai <c_w_tsai@...> wrote: I wrote a simple bit of javascript to generate random scrambles. http://www.geocities.com/c_w_tsai/cube/rand_alg2.html It avoids such things as R R2 and R L R2. I have no doubt someone has written something like this already. Whatever. You can change the number of moves you want to use. c --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. :) --Brent --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone! It's Friday again, which means the results of the FMC are now online, and available from www.cubestation.co.uk You may notice a couple of changes to the layout of the results. Firstly, due to the big demand I have added a seperate QTM (Quarter Turn Metric) ranking alongside the Half Turn and Slice turn Metrics. So there are now 3 first positions up for grabs! When you enter your solutions by using the form on the FMC page, could you please also provide all three counts using the boxes provided. Secondly, from an idea given to me by Chris Hardwick, to try and get more people involved in Fewest Moves Solving, I have added different grades to aim for when playing the FMC each week. For some of you it may seem almost impossble to reach a first place with some of the amazing solutions that get posted by the greats in FMC solving. But now there is the chance to aim for personal goals, by aiming for the different levels that I have set up. You may want to aim for Expert (0-27 moves), or Advanced (28-39 moves), or if you are inexperienced in Fewest Moves Solving and are learning the ropes, you may like to go for Intermediate (40-51 moves) or Beginner (52+ moves). Whatever you decide to do, set yourself a realistic goal and try and maintain a consistent standard each week! (I did not have time to add the "detailed explanation" to the results page just yet, but smaller explanations can be found by clicking the buttons on the submission form) Finally, don't forget to join the Fewest Moves Challenge Group, which can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fewestmoveschallenge - where you can discuss all aspects of Fewest Moves Solving, and ask the top players about their strategies. Good Luck to all of you, I hope to see you all taking part in the FMC's to come! Dan Harris :) - www.cubestation.co.uk

Hey, I was thinking today that it might be cool to start a cubist owned puzzle building/cube customizing/and general cube purveying business of sorts. What do you guys think of that? I'm a good concept guy mostly in the aesthetics department...but I have recently branched off into design and understanding the mechanics of things. Anyone game? --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gustav Fredell" <gufr5747@s...> wrote: > It would be great to have a project to share our computer powers > within this group. A hundred computers could really do a lot over > the internet in little time. A "Screensaver"-type application like > SETI or GIMPS could perhaps solve many cube related problems for us > all. To bad I don't have any courses in the subject for at least a > year =) . Besides... we might not be many enough... well if someone > sits on a lot of knowledge in parallel-programming please make an > effort ;) This would be cool. I've even got a program in mind; it's about 70% done.

I decided to take a look at < U, R2 > today and it has a unique antipode: Level Positions Total Elapsed Time 0) 1 1) 2 3 0 2) 3 6 0 3) 5 11 0 4) 7 18 0 5) 10 28 0 6) 15 43 0 7) 22 65 0 8) 32 97 0 9) 46 143 0 10) 66 209 0 11) 95 304 0 12) 133 437 0 13) 188 625 0 14) 266 891 0 15) 373 1264 0 16) 515 1779 0 17) 700 2479 0 18) 923 3402 0 19) 1194 4596 1 20) 1487 6083 1 21) 1752 7835 1 22) 1899 9734 2 23) 1817 11551 2 24) 1472 13023 3 25) 895 13918 4 26) 368 14286 4 27) 100 14386 4 28) 13 14399 4 29) 1 14400 4 TOP U U U U U U U U U LEFT FRONT RIGHT BACK F L B L B R B R F R F L L L L F F F R R R B B B L L L F F R B R F R B B DOWN D D D D D D D D D

Hello everyone! The original url for the Saturday Contest page is long and hard to remember, so now you can go to www.saturdaycontest.tk and it will redirect you to the page. or You can save the direct link to your favorites: http://s92413871.onlinehome.us/saturcon/ Enjoy! - Raul --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics and one of our projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that we are interested in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So I ask if all readers could fill this out and email it to me at j_rueth@... or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of the questions (only 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks much! Jake 1. How old are you? 2. What is your gender? 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do you chose? 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if need be)? 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? 7. What country are you from? 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto?

In a message dated 1/16/2004 3:00:09 PM Mountain Standard Time, no_reply@yahoogroups.com writes: 1. How old are you? 33 years old 2. What is your gender? Male 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do you chose? White 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? Over 200 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if need be)? 20 years 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Sometimes Fridrich, Sometimes O'Hare, Sometimes Petrus, and sometimes corner's first. 7. What country are you from? United States 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? No [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

1. How old are you? 27 years 2. What is your gender? Male 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do you chose? Blue 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 12 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if need be)? 20 years, but only picked up speedsolving a few years ago 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Fridrich 7. What country are you from? United States 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? Yes... Placed 10th in the 3x3 jon

--- j_rueth <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics > and one of our > projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that > we are interested > in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So > I ask if all > readers could fill this out and email it to me at > j_rueth@... > or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of > the questions (only > 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks > much! > > Jake > > 1. How old are you? 18 > > 2. What is your gender? Male > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, > which color do > you chose? Blue! > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 6 > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round > your answers if > need be)? 1 year > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? > fridrich > > 7. What country are you from? USA > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship > in Toronto? yes > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

> 1. How old are you? > 20 yrs old. > 2. What is your gender? > Male. > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? I do not start with a specific color on the cube, I do on the Megaminx though. > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? > Standard 3x3's: 7 3x3's of any size or sticker pattern: 16 > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if need be)? For just under 2 years > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? > 1.Cross 2. F2l simultaneously 3. If 0 or 4 edges are oriented correctly, orient entire LL, if only 2 edges are oriented correctly, orient edges, orient corners. 4. Permute all. > > 7. What country are you from? > USA > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? Sadly, no. Hope that helps out! Daniel Hayes

> 1. How old are you? 17 > > 2. What is your gender? Male > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, > which color do > you chose? Blue > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 2 > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round > your answers if > need be)? .0576923076923076923076923076923... > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? O'Hare/Fridrich > > > 7. What country are you from? United States > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship > in Toronto? no > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

--- Jake Rueth wrote: > 1. How old are you? 26 > 2. What is your gender? Male > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? Blue > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? Standard (6 color)? 2.96 (lost an edge out of the 3rd) Including 3 color? 3.96 > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers > if need be)? 7 (ish) > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Fridrich > 7. What country are you from? United States of America > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? Yes

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics and one of our > projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that we are interested > in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So I ask if all > readers could fill this out and email it to me at j_rueth@y... > or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of the questions (only > 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks much! > > Jake > > 1. How old are you? 31 > > 2. What is your gender? Male > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? Orange and Red > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 7 > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? 6 years > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Corners First > > > 7. What country are you from? Canada > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? Yes

> > 1. How old are you? 55 > > 2. What is your gender? female > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? white > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 490 (nt nearly enough!) > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? 24 years > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? corners-first > > > 7. What country are you from? originally from what is now Czech Reoublic now I live in the USA > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? I did not compete,m I exhibitrf 3 dimensional cube ert

i have solved everything except 2 wing edges, they need to be fliped? i cant find a site that fixes this problem? i can finish the cube but the 2 edges are still upside down.

1. How old are you? 16 2. What is your gender? Male 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do you chose? Black--My cube has black opp blue, green opp red, and white opp yellow... 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? only 1 good speedcube 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if need be)? about 2 years 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Cross, F2L, orient LL corners, position LL corners, LL edges 7. What country are you from? USA 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? Yes, 61st on cube...slightly better on pyraminx (1st) :) --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

> > 1. How old are you? 35 > > 2. What is your gender? male > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? white > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 10 > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? 5 > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? jessica`s > > > 7. What country are you from? australia > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? no

whos solution have you been using,i need to solve my 5 x5 but dont really know how Pete

1. How old are you? 14 2. What is your gender? Male 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do you chose? White 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 1 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if need be)? 5 months 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Fredrich 7. What country are you from? USA 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? No Adrian [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cubist3x3only <no_reply@y...> wrote: > i have solved everything except 2 wing edges, they need to be fliped? > i cant find a site that fixes this problem? i can finish the cube but > the 2 edges are still upside down. Place 2 deges at UL. Do this. B2b2 R2r2 B2b2 -b'U2b'U2b'U2b'U2b'-L2fR2f'L2fR2f'- B2b2 R2r2 B2b2 or B2b2 R'r'Ml R' - b'U2b'U2b'U2b'U2b'-L2fR2f'L2fR2f'- R RrM'l' B2b2 Goodluck! Masayuki Akimoto

Hey! See my answers below ;-) --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics and one of our > projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that we are interested > in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So I ask if all > readers could fill this out and email it to me at j_rueth@y... > or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of the questions (only > 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks much! > > Jake > > 1. How old are you? 38 > > 2. What is your gender? Male > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? If i chose a particular color and not the "best" i go for white. > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 5, one is stickerless and 1 has worn out stickers ;-) > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? Since 1980 or 81, can't quite recall. > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Simple layer by layer, 4 look last layer. > > > 7. What country are you from? Norway. > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? Nope. Couldn't afford the time nor money to go both to Philippines and Toronto :D Regards, --cubix--

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics and one of our > projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that we are interested > in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So I ask if all > readers could fill this out and email it to me at j_rueth@y... > or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of the questions (only > 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks much! > > Jake > > 1. How old are you? 34 > > 2. What is your gender? male > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? white > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 1 (and 2 originally boxed) > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if need be)? 22 > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? 2 step LL, first corners, than edges > > > 7. What country are you from? germany > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? no

1. How old are you? 15 2. What is your gender? Male 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do you chose? Orange 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 12 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if need be)? About 3-4 years 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Petrus Method 7. What country are you from? USA 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? Yes --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics and one of our > projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that we are interested > in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So I ask if all > readers could fill this out and email it to me at j_rueth@y... > or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of the questions (only > 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks much! > > Jake > > 1. How old are you? > > 2. What is your gender? > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? > > > 7. What country are you from? > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto?

1. How old are you? 19 2. What is your gender? male 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do you chose? white 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 7 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if need be)? 2 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Layer by layer 7. What country are you from? The Netherlands 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? No

----- Original Message ----- From: "j_rueth" <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 10:53 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] imput from all > Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics and one of our > projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that we are interested > in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So I ask if all > readers could fill this out and email it to me at j_rueth@... > or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of the questions (only > 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks much! > > Jake > > 1. How old are you? 73 > > 2. What is your gender? M > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? Red > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 12 > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? 22 > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? FL, down C, the rest > > > 7. What country are you from? Sweden > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? Yes > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics and one of our > projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that we are interested > in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So I ask if all > readers could fill this out and email it to me at j_rueth@y... > or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of the questions (only > 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks much! > > Jake > > 1. How old are you? 41 > > 2. What is your gender? Male > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? Red > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 12 (the other ones were destroyed in a fire) > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? since 1980 > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Corners first! > > > 7. What country are you from? Sweden > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? Yes

> 1. How old are you? 16 > > 2. What is your gender? male > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? white > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 3 > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? 1.5 > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Fridrich > > > 7. What country are you from? USA > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? NO

> 1. How old are you?  16 > > 2. What is your gender?  male > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose?  i dont =-[ > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own?  2 > > 5.  How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)?  2-3 > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube?  LARS! > > > 7. What country are you from?  USA > > 8.  Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? NO (woulda gotten smoked) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

-----Original Message----- From: j_rueth [mailto:no_reply@yahoogroups.com] Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 4:53 PM To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Speed cubing group] imput from all Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics and one of our projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that we are interested in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So I ask if all readers could fill this out and email it to me at j_rueth@... or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of the questions (only 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks much! Jake 1. How old are you? 19 2. What is your gender? Male 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do you chose? White 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 2 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if need be)? 1.5 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Layer-by-layer method 7. What country are you from? USA 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? Sadly, no. Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT click here <http://rd.yahoo.com/SIG=12cglfr5b/M=267637.4116732.5333197.1261774/D=eg roupweb/S=1705297356:HM/EXP=1074376549/A=1945637/R=0/*http://www.netflix .com/Default?mqso=60178397&partid=4116732> <http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=267637.4116732.5333197.1261774/D=egrou pmail/S=:HM/A=1945637/rand=933710807> _____ Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <mailto:speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsub scribe> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I've figured out the 2x2x2 blindfolded, and now I'm working on the 3x3x3. But I have one problem: How can you get a corner from the bottom layer to the top layer (or vice versa) without messing up the corner orientations? It was easier in the 2x2x2 when I didn't need to worry about the edges at all.

> 1. How old are you? 54 > > 2. What is your gender? male > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? white > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 20 > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? 23 > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? for my best times, a modified Fridrich-like layer by layer method...but I can do several other methods also > > > 7. What country are you from? USA > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? no :-( Bill McGaugh

Hey Michael, for moving corners from the top to the bottom I use a method that Dror described to me while at the WC. If you have the pieces oriented in such a way that if a piece is in U or D and it belongs in either U or D then the color it shows on the top of its face is either the U or D color. Basically what I mean is if the corner that belongs in DBR when the cube is solved is in UFL then the D color is showing on the top of U. If all your pieces are oriented like that, then you can do a turn like R2 or L2 and then do a simple corner mover algorithm in the U layer, then undo your R2 at the end. This will move your corners around between layers. For example say that all the corners in the top layer belong there except for the corner at UBL. Now assume that all the corners in the bottom layer belong there except for the one at DFR. If you do the move R2, your incorrect corners will be lined in such a way in the U layer that doing the algorithm R2B2RFR'B2RF'R will move them into correct positions such that undoing your original R2 move will place all the corners in their correct layer. Also notice that the very first R2 setup move and the R2 for the first move of the algorithm undo eachother. If you do decide to use this method, seeing little shortcuts like that helps to save time. Another useful trick I use a lot is to purposefully get corners onto their opposite diagonals over the front face. By that I mean if the corners that belong in DFR and DFL are in the U face in UFL and UFR respectively, and the corners that belong in UFR and UFL are in the D face in DFL and DFR respectively then get them into this position throughout your solving of the corners step, This diagram is meant to be a head on view of the front face. DFR-----------DFL <- U face |____|____|____| | | <- middle or E layer |----|----|----| UFR-----------UFL <- D face In this diagram (hopefully it comes out ok) DFR means the corners that when the cube is solved will end up in DFR. Same for all the other labels. Hold your cube like in the diagram and rotate once away from you (i.e. do x) and do the permutation where you switch 4 diagonal corners. This preserves the orientation of the corners if they are oriented as I mentioned above, and also you not only get the corners to their correct layers, but also the correct spots. I hope that explanation makes sense at all. This is one of those things that is easy to show in person but harder to describe with text. If I messed up on some explanation let me know and I'll try to clear it up. Hope this helps, Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > I've figured out the 2x2x2 blindfolded, and now I'm working on the > 3x3x3. But I have one problem: How can you get a corner from the > bottom layer to the top layer (or vice versa) without messing up the > corner orientations? > It was easier in the 2x2x2 when I didn't need to worry about the > edges at all.

> I've figured out the 2x2x2 blindfolded, and now I'm working on the > 3x3x3. But I have one problem: How can you get a corner from the > bottom layer to the top layer (or vice versa) without messing up the > corner orientations? > It was easier in the 2x2x2 when I didn't need to worry about the > edges at all. Two useful algorithms: UL2UR2U'L2UR2U2 and U'R2UR2UF2 U'R2U'R2UF2 Have fun, Ron

A useful and very easy double swap --- UBR <--> DBR and UFR <--> UBL or, using Dr Carr's numeration, 3 <--> 7 1 <--> 4 3*(RB'R'B) Good luck, Rob

My thumb was cut during a plastics project I was doing and now cubing has become uncomfortable...does anyone know of a REALLY good way of healing as quick as possible or cushioning...any specific bandaid or antibiotics? -K __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

Hi, Rune, rwmember me from Toronto? Now that we heard from you, we need to hrar from Vikroria. :-) Have a good day, Hana a kostky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Rune Wesström <rune.wesstrom@h...> wrote: > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "j_rueth" <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> > To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 10:53 PM > Subject: [Speed cubing group] imput from all > > > > Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics and one of our > > projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that we are interested > > in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So I ask if all > > readers could fill this out and email it to me at j_rueth@y... > > or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of the questions (only > > 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks much! > > > > Jake > > > > 1. How old are you? 73 > > > > 2. What is your gender? M > > > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > > you chose? Red > > > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 12 > > > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > > need be)? 22 > > > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? FL, down C, the rest > > > > > > 7. What country are you from? Sweden > > > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? Yes > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > >

Hey, I just started a website last night. I'm working on it... don't have much now but I put up some rules (mostly copied from the RWC rules) for the tournament. Let me know if there's anything wrong or anything you feel should be changed or anything that's good for that matter. I'll be working on this site quite a bit over the three day weekend. Hopefully, I'll have a home for the Caltech Rubik's Cube Club up soon... looking ahead to posting results and pictures too! -Tyson http://www.its.caltech.edu/~tmao/

I had a similar problem last year when I almost cut off my left index finger. I just stopped using it for cubing and started using my middle finger instead. As a result I got really good at using my left hand. Maybe you can do something like that. Jon --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > My thumb was cut during a plastics project I was doing > and now cubing has become uncomfortable...does anyone > know of a REALLY good way of healing as quick as > possible or cushioning...any specific bandaid or > antibiotics? > -K > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

Thanks everyone, this has helped a lot. Shouldn't be too much longer until I'll be able to do it!

everyone, i am redsigning the Wednesday contest.... however, i'm wondering if i should modify the events. some say i should have the same events as the champs, some say i should leave it alone, or should i do both?? everyone, what do you think, chris? brent :) --Brent --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey all, I would love to have a timer in the corner of some cube videos I captured. Normally I work with Adobe Premiere, but haven't been able to do this. I'm aiming at something like Ron's movie (which was made by Ton). Does anybody know how to do this? Thanks in advance - Koen

hey all, I'm working on the 5x5 right now. I put all the middles together, then all the edges, then solve as a 3x3. Im just wondering if people have a specific method for doing the first two steps, like pairing up the edges in a specific way, or the middle pieces. thanks

> 1. How old are you? I will be 21 on Jan 31st. > > 2. What is your gender? I am Male. > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? Random. > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 1, but hope to expand. > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? Started earlier this month because I asked for a cube for Christmas. > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? I use the method described by Lars Petrus on his webpage. > > > 7. What country are you from? United States. > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? No.

Super glue? Thats what I use if I cut a deep one in my thumb with my hobby knife when I build my model cars. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > My thumb was cut during a plastics project I was doing > and now cubing has become uncomfortable...does anyone > know of a REALLY good way of healing as quick as > possible or cushioning...any specific bandaid or > antibiotics? > -K

--- j_rueth <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics > and one of our > projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that > we are interested > in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So > I ask if all > readers could fill this out and email it to me at > j_rueth@... > or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of > the questions (only > 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks > much! > > Jake > > 1. How old are you? 43 > > 2. What is your gender? Male > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, > which color do > you chose? Blue > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 2 > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round > your answers if > need be)? 24 > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Corner First > > > 7. What country are you from? USA > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship > in Toronto? No > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

Hi all, This might be a little late, but about the new "official rules," I really think that there should be a limit to the number of lucky cases allowed in an average run. Since 1 second in a solve is .1 sec in the average, 3 lucky cases could mean 1 second off the average, assuming 1 lucky case can save 5 seconds. In fact, my best rollin average with 4 lucky cases is 14.1, in which I had, I think, 2 lucky 11 and 2 lucky 13. So my proposal is this: The maximum number of lucky cases allowed in a average run is 2. Here, a lucky case means Cross/OLL/PLL/CLL/ELL skip. I don't like to think of a F2L slot skip as a lucky case, unless it is more than 2 slots. There should be another category just for averages with 3 or more lucky cases. What do you guys think? Macky

1.13 2.M 3.Blue 4.9 5.5 6.Fridrich/Guus/Petrus (In order of preference :D)+some other neat tricks... 7.Japan 8.yup Macky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics and one of our > projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that we are interested > in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So I ask if all > readers could fill this out and email it to me at j_rueth@y... > or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of the questions (only > 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks much! > > Jake > > 1. How old are you? > > 2. What is your gender? > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? > > > 7. What country are you from? > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto?

Hey everyone, I think Macky has a good point. So, lucky cases are allowed in a tournament... but at a tournament, such as the RWC, you didn't get to try for as many averages as you want. People sitting at home constantly doing averages (not that it's a bad thing) will of course hit more lucky cases. -Tyson Btw... as a side note, I'm thinking of holding a tournament similar to the one next week once a term... (whch means one fall, winter, spring, and summer.) Would more people be able to come for one during the summer or one during the spring set during a break... though the spring break idea one is probably not good as everyone's break is different. I was thinking perhaps the summer tournament could be slightly larger than the rest.

Im not so sure. I don't really believe in lucky cases I guess. Apart from anything else what is lucky depends on the solve strategy. Someone who was expert in Fridrich, corners first and edges first for example might be able to judicously choose a strategy for each solve that increased the number of so-called lucky cases. There is a certain skill to increasing the chances of lucky cases too. Suppose someone comes up with a one look strategy for the LL. Part of this strategy will include solving a case that is permutation only. For the one look solver this is not lucky just one of many cases. For a 2-look solver this would be a lucky case. (Similarly and more realistically for 3 v. 2 looks etc). I can see the point but I'm not convinced Duncan ----- Original Message ----- From: tmao@... To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, January 19, 2004 6:55 AM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Official Rules Hey everyone, I think Macky has a good point. So, lucky cases are allowed in a tournament... but at a tournament, such as the RWC, you didn't get to try for as many averages as you want. People sitting at home constantly doing averages (not that it's a bad thing) will of course hit more lucky cases. -Tyson Btw... as a side note, I'm thinking of holding a tournament similar to the one next week once a term... (whch means one fall, winter, spring, and summer.) Would more people be able to come for one during the summer or one during the spring set during a break... though the spring break idea one is probably not good as everyone's break is different. I was thinking perhaps the summer tournament could be slightly larger than the rest. Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everybody, For a long time I had sequences for solving the cube using Ryan's method. It was just a list of sequences with no diagrams. Yesterday I made diagrams for the step 4 cases and this morning I finished the section on step 4. If you're interested in learning his method or solving the LL in 2 looks doing the ELL/ CLL then you should look at this. All the sequences are optimized and are the fastest I can make them. I would like to know what you think of the sequences. Andy

I forgot to include the link to my site in my last post so here it is: http://andyscubepage.tk Andy

19 male white 9 standard cubes 5 years my own method USA yes -Doug Li --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics and one of our > projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that we are interested > in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So I ask if all > readers could fill this out and email it to me at j_rueth@y... > or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of the questions (only > 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks much! > > Jake > > 1. How old are you? > > 2. What is your gender? > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? > > > 7. What country are you from? > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto?

I agree with Duncan. When I think of lucky cases, I think in terms of cases and number of moves...., which doesn't necessarliy corrolate perfectly with the final time. That is, it can take me longer to do fewer moves (when those moves are not easily trigger- able). Most of the time when I solve the LL in one algorithm, my time is just as long as when I solve in two steps (perhaps due to recognition). I also use certain tactics to result in more preferable cases later in the solve, the so-called lucky cases, but this does require some skill. Besides, with averages, it all averages out in the end... -Doug Li --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Duncan Dicks" <duncan@d...> wrote: > Im not so sure. I don't really believe in lucky cases I guess. Apart from anything else what is lucky depends on the solve strategy. Someone who was expert in Fridrich, corners first and edges first for example might be able to judicously choose a strategy for each solve that increased the number of so-called lucky cases. There is a certain skill to increasing the chances of lucky cases too. Suppose someone comes up with a one look strategy for the LL. Part of this strategy will include solving a case that is permutation only. For the one look solver this is not lucky just one of many cases. For a 2-look solver this would be a lucky case. (Similarly and more realistically for 3 v. 2 looks etc). > > I can see the point but I'm not convinced > > Duncan > ----- Original Message ----- > From: tmao@i... > To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Monday, January 19, 2004 6:55 AM > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Official Rules > > > Hey everyone, > > I think Macky has a good point. So, lucky cases are allowed in a tournament... but at > a tournament, such as the RWC, you didn't get to try for as many averages as you > want. People sitting at home constantly doing averages (not that it's a bad thing) will > of course hit more lucky cases. > > -Tyson > > Btw... as a side note, I'm thinking of holding a tournament similar to the one next > week once a term... (whch means one fall, winter, spring, and summer.) Would more > people be able to come for one during the summer or one during the spring set > during a break... though the spring break idea one is probably not good as everyone's > break is different. I was thinking perhaps the summer tournament could be slightly > larger than the rest. > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > ADVERTISEMENT > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- > Yahoo! Groups Links > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--------- "My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son of a bitch" - Jack Nicholson --------- "Black holes are where God divided by zero" - Steven Wright Please note: forwarded message attached Note: forwarded message attached. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

> 1. How old are you? 27 > > 2. What is your gender? Male > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? White > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 17 > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? 2 > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Fridrich 3, Look LL > > > 7. What country are you from? UK > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? Yup, came 52nd

1. How old are you? 19 2. What is your gender? Male 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do you chose? White 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? 2 5. How many years have you been solving them? Solving for 5 years, speedsolving for one year 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? Fridrich 2 look LL 7. What country are you from? United States 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto? No

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Mark Longridge <zero1@l...> wrote: > Also rubikaz has results of level 10 for q+h > full cube group. > > One level further than Jerry Bryan's calculation, I have got this result from the cube lovers mailing list > but I haven't heard anything from him in years.

does anyone have any LL algorithms that use the right hand exclusively? i partially amputated a couple fingers on my left hand and have to solve predominantly using my pinky and ring fingers on that hand. i can still use the two i frodo'd, but finger tricks are impossible. i am looking for finger tricks that use only the right hand. you can email me at kmurkot@...

Check out Dan Knights page: http://benjerry.middlebury.edu/~knights/CubeInfo.html He has some very useful info regarding finger tricks. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "double_nubbins" <ken_murkot@y...> wrote: > does anyone have any LL algorithms that use the right hand > exclusively? i partially amputated a couple fingers on my left hand > and have to solve predominantly using my pinky and ring fingers on > that hand. i can still use the two i frodo'd, but finger tricks are > impossible. i am looking for finger tricks that use only the right > hand. you can email me at kmurkot@c...

Hey all, I know the subject of IQ has come up before, and I know there are mixed feelings on the subject. I don't intend to stir up any quarrels or debates on value of IQ as it pertains to intelligence. I was just curious if any of our members where also members of Mensa, or similar societies (Triple nines, prometheus, glia, TOPS)? It seems that that kind of environment would be something a lot of the members here would fit into. Just trying to pass the time ;) Daniel

Hi folks, A while back I gave path-lengths for < U, R2 > but then I realized I was only using U and not U and -U both. On Friday 16 January 2004 01:22 pm, Mark Longridge wrote: > I decided to take a look at < U, R2 > today and it > has a unique antipode: The antipodal position is the same in both calculations. Here are the new calculations: Calculating < U, R2 >... Level Positions Total Elapsed Time 0) 1 1) 3 4 0 2) 5 9 0 3) 8 17 0 4) 13 30 0 5) 21 51 0 6) 34 85 0 7) 55 140 0 8) 85 225 0 9) 125 350 0 10) 188 538 0 11) 286 824 0 12) 432 1256 0 13) 646 1902 0 14) 952 2854 1 15) 1404 4258 1 16) 1794 6052 1 17) 2170 8222 2 18) 2306 10528 3 19) 1964 12492 4 20) 1312 13804 5 21) 512 14316 5 22) 75 14391 5 23) 5 14396 5 24) 3 14399 5 25) 1 14400 5 TOP U U U U U U U U U LEFT FRONT RIGHT BACK F L B L B R B R F R F L L L L F F F R R R B B B L L L F F R B R F R B B DOWN D D D D D D D D D

> The antipodal position is the same in both calculations. This is a surprise! Very nice. Here's an interesting thought that I wonder if anyone has explored. Instead of enumerating all the positions at a particular level, instead enumerate all the "multipaths" at that level (positions that can be reached in multiple different ways)---and subtract that value from the usual recurrence, to get the population at that level. Since there are fewer multipaths, this may end up being a lot easier.

Hi there, I've been solving cubes since the early 80s when the original Rubik's Cube came into fame. I purchased one while in Jr High School and have loved them ever since. Many years ago I purchased a book called "The Simple Solution To Rubik's Cube," a nice simple paperback about 30 pages long. It wasn't the most complex method and didn't involve the techniques that the new generation of cubers/cubists are using, but it's the one that I remember the best. My best personal time using that solution was about 26 seconds (not too shabby back in the early 80s). Years ago (within the past 5 years or so) I stumbled across that same solution on the Internet, all the same terminology and all the same move sequences. The problem is, I can't find that solution again. :) I can solve the cube down to the last layer (I do a top to bottom solution) and I'm getting stuck at the bottom layer. If anyone can point me in the direction of that solution online I'd be eternally greatful. I will learn some of these new techniques from Lars and Jessica (their times are amazing to an old Cubist like me) and I'll beat my own personal best of 26 seconds. Any assistance is great appreciated, now I've got a lot of reading to catch up on in this group. Thanks, Paul

My Iq, at last record, was 127. I don't belong to any organisations because It kind of comes off as arrogance, and I don't think I'm qualified in the first place... :( -K pi3p14159265 <swedishlf@...> wrote: Hey all, I know the subject of IQ has come up before, and I know there are mixed feelings on the subject. I don't intend to stir up any quarrels or debates on value of IQ as it pertains to intelligence. I was just curious if any of our members where also members of Mensa, or similar societies (Triple nines, prometheus, glia, TOPS)? It seems that that kind of environment would be something a lot of the members here would fit into. Just trying to pass the time ;) Daniel Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Am I a member of Mensa? Dear God, NO! What would I do theureu? However, our website, my and Josef Jelinek's, http://cube.misto.cz , found its way into the Czech Mensa. I just came from the Internet to make sure it's still there. Yuo, it is. :-) Hana a kostky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "pi3p14159265" <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > Hey all, > I know the subject of IQ has come up before, and I know there are > mixed feelings on the subject. I don't intend to stir up any > quarrels or debates on value of IQ as it pertains to intelligence. I > was just curious if any of our members where also members of Mensa, > or similar societies (Triple nines, prometheus, glia, TOPS)? It > seems that that kind of environment would be something a lot of the > members here would fit into. > > Just trying to pass the time ;) > Daniel

I think I know the site you are talking about and I don't believe it is still up. The Simple Solution is not very efficient anyway. Did you get 26 secs with that method? That's pretty good if you did. I recommend learning a 3 or 4 look Orinet then Permute last layer. Dan Knights' site(I think a link was posted a few posts ago)has some good info. Good Luck! --barefoot Chris > Hi there, > > I've been solving cubes since the early 80s when the original Rubik's > Cube came into fame. I purchased one while in Jr High School and > have loved them ever since. > > Many years ago I purchased a book called "The Simple Solution To > Rubik's Cube," a nice simple paperback about 30 pages long. It > wasn't the most complex method and didn't involve the techniques that > the new generation of cubers/cubists are using, but it's the one that > I remember the best. My best personal time using that solution was > about 26 seconds (not too shabby back in the early 80s). > > Years ago (within the past 5 years or so) I stumbled across that same > solution on the Internet, all the same terminology and all the same > move sequences. The problem is, I can't find that solution again. :) > > I can solve the cube down to the last layer (I do a top to bottom > solution) and I'm getting stuck at the bottom layer. > > If anyone can point me in the direction of that solution online I'd > be eternally greatful. I will learn some of these new techniques > from Lars and Jessica (their times are amazing to an old Cubist like > me) and I'll beat my own personal best of 26 seconds. > > Any assistance is great appreciated, now I've got a lot of reading to > catch up on in this group. > > Thanks, > Paul

1. 22 2. Male 3. White 4. 5 5. 1 6. Layer by layer, keyhole method, 4-look LL 7. Sweden 8. Nope /Gustav --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey all, I have just started a class in statistics and one of our > projects is to hand out a survey about a topic that we are interested > in. Of course i had to do mine on the cube :D So I ask if all > readers could fill this out and email it to me at j_rueth@y... > or just reply to this poll. Please answer ALL of the questions (only > 8 q's) and try and keep your answers brief. Thanks much! > > Jake > > 1. How old are you? > > 2. What is your gender? > > 3. If you start with a specific color on your cube, which color do > you chose? > > 4. How many standard 3x3 cubes do you own? > > 5. How many years have you been solving them (round your answers if > need be)? > > 6. What method do you use to solve the cube? > > > 7. What country are you from? > > 8. Did you compete in the 2003 World Championship in Toronto?

Damn, I was hoping to find that. Oh well, guess it's time to un- learn the old method and try something new. Yes, I really did get a 26 second time many years ago back in 1985 after some pretty feverish work on my original (and fairly loose) cube. That wasn't a scientific measurement, mind you, just a friend that yelled "GO!" when he started his stopwatch then stopped it when I screamed "DONE!." Due to the unscientific and highly inaccurate method of timing involved, I'll play it safe and say it was 26.11081240127401724787126124801247 seconds. :) Paul

Member of Mensa Sweden (Uppsala). You are now the only ones that knows though (except for my girlfriend). Don't wanna be seen as a show-off. Did it to prove something to myself... no one else. And I don't find IQ to be a good measure of 'intelligence'... anyway thats not the point. I'm just answering the question :P /Gustav --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "pi3p14159265" <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > Hey all, > I know the subject of IQ has come up before, and I know there are > mixed feelings on the subject. I don't intend to stir up any > quarrels or debates on value of IQ as it pertains to intelligence. I > was just curious if any of our members where also members of Mensa, > or similar societies (Triple nines, prometheus, glia, TOPS)? It > seems that that kind of environment would be something a lot of the > members here would fit into. > > Just trying to pass the time ;) > Daniel

I have a copy of that book around here somewhere. I will see if I can find it. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "br0adband_2004" <broadband99@h...> wrote: > Hi there, > > I've been solving cubes since the early 80s when the original Rubik's > Cube came into fame. I purchased one while in Jr High School and > have loved them ever since. > > Many years ago I purchased a book called "The Simple Solution To > Rubik's Cube," a nice simple paperback about 30 pages long. It > wasn't the most complex method and didn't involve the techniques that > the new generation of cubers/cubists are using, but it's the one that > I remember the best. My best personal time using that solution was > about 26 seconds (not too shabby back in the early 80s). > > Years ago (within the past 5 years or so) I stumbled across that same > solution on the Internet, all the same terminology and all the same > move sequences. The problem is, I can't find that solution again. :) > > I can solve the cube down to the last layer (I do a top to bottom > solution) and I'm getting stuck at the bottom layer. > > If anyone can point me in the direction of that solution online I'd > be eternally greatful. I will learn some of these new techniques > from Lars and Jessica (their times are amazing to an old Cubist like > me) and I'll beat my own personal best of 26 seconds. > > Any assistance is great appreciated, now I've got a lot of reading to > catch up on in this group. > > Thanks, > Paul

I was once invited to join mensa, and I had the pleasure of snubbing them. What the heck. I figured anyone can join. How many people can snub? In college, my IQ was measured at 172 +-3% However, I don't put much stock in IQ. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "pi3p14159265" <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > Hey all, > I know the subject of IQ has come up before, and I know there are > mixed feelings on the subject. I don't intend to stir up any > quarrels or debates on value of IQ as it pertains to intelligence. I > was just curious if any of our members where also members of Mensa, > or similar societies (Triple nines, prometheus, glia, TOPS)? It > seems that that kind of environment would be something a lot of the > members here would fit into. > > Just trying to pass the time ;) > Daniel

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "pi3p14159265" <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > Anyone in Mensa? Sorry, with an IQ of 58, I can't belong to any sect of pseudo-superior people. Too bad. > I don't intend to stir up any > quarrels or debates on value of IQ as it pertains to intelligence. Wwwoooppsss :-))) Gilles.

Hi Daniel, I recommend "The Mismeasure of Man" by Stephen Jay Gould. DJ --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "pi3p14159265" <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > Hey all, > I know the subject of IQ has come up before, and I know there are > mixed feelings on the subject. I don't intend to stir up any > quarrels or debates on value of IQ as it pertains to intelligence. I > was just curious if any of our members where also members of Mensa, > or similar societies (Triple nines, prometheus, glia, TOPS)? It > seems that that kind of environment would be something a lot of the > members here would fit into. > > Just trying to pass the time ;) > Daniel

The book comes up on ebay often. Cheap. DJ --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "br0adband_2004" <broadband99@h...> wrote: > Hi there, > > I've been solving cubes since the early 80s when the original Rubik's > Cube came into fame. I purchased one while in Jr High School and > have loved them ever since. > > Many years ago I purchased a book called "The Simple Solution To > Rubik's Cube," a nice simple paperback about 30 pages long. It > wasn't the most complex method and didn't involve the techniques that > the new generation of cubers/cubists are using, but it's the one that > I remember the best. My best personal time using that solution was > about 26 seconds (not too shabby back in the early 80s). > > Years ago (within the past 5 years or so) I stumbled across that same > solution on the Internet, all the same terminology and all the same > move sequences. The problem is, I can't find that solution again. :) > > I can solve the cube down to the last layer (I do a top to bottom > solution) and I'm getting stuck at the bottom layer. > > If anyone can point me in the direction of that solution online I'd > be eternally greatful. I will learn some of these new techniques > from Lars and Jessica (their times are amazing to an old Cubist like > me) and I'll beat my own personal best of 26 seconds. > > Any assistance is great appreciated, now I've got a lot of reading to > catch up on in this group. > > Thanks, > Paul

Sorry if I hit a nerve with anyone... Just thought since we're a puzzling group and they're a puzzling group (though not strictly), there might be some overlap.

I'm not in Mensa, but I think I would qualify. On the mensa site there's a test you can take that won't get you in, but apparently it's similar to the one to get you in. And I passed. I took an online IQ test once and got a 177, which is like a FREAKING SUPER GENIUS!!. But I know a lot of people who took it, and no one got less than 160. And 130 is supposed to be genius. So it's not very accurate. so I guess I'm not a Freaking Super Genius. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "pi3p14159265" <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > Hey all, > I know the subject of IQ has come up before, and I know there are > mixed feelings on the subject. I don't intend to stir up any > quarrels or debates on value of IQ as it pertains to intelligence. I > was just curious if any of our members where also members of Mensa, > or similar societies (Triple nines, prometheus, glia, TOPS)? It > seems that that kind of environment would be something a lot of the > members here would fit into. > > Just trying to pass the time ;) > Daniel

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "br0adband_2004" <broadband99@h...> wrote: > Hi there, > > I've been solving cubes since the early 80s when the original Rubik's > Cube came into fame. I purchased one while in Jr High School and > have loved them ever since. > > SNIP That book's solution (especially the last layer) was very similar to http://jjorg.chem.unc.edu/personal/monroe/cube/Denny3x3/index.htm (a mirror of a now nonexistant page). That method is by far the simplest to learn, and the terminology (L,U2,R') has been replaced with simple pictures, very easy to understand. In fact, I'm currently writing an online utility to convert strings of crypto-terminology into batches of those pictures, to make it easier for beginnners. So ye, that may be the site you were looking for.

At least you're smart enough to figure that out :) /Lars At 1:19 AM +0000 1/21/04, Michael Atkinson wrote: > >I took an online IQ test once and got a 177, which is like a FREAKING >SUPER GENIUS!!. But I know a lot of people who took it, and no one >got less than 160. And 130 is supposed to be genius. So it's not very >accurate. so I guess I'm not a Freaking Super Genius. -- "They say the grass is greener on the other side, but have you ever flipped it over?" Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@... http://lar5.com

--- Mark Longridge wrote: > Here are the new calculations: > Calculating < U, R2 >... Take a look at the page on my site about the Turn'Push puzzle. It is equivalent to the <U,R2> cube group. On that page I have a table showing the number of positions in QTM vs HTM. http://www.geocities.com/jaapsch/puzzles/turnpush.htm Jaap

--- Michael Atkinson wrote: > I took an online IQ test once and got a 177, which is like a > FREAKING SUPER GENIUS!!. > So it's not very accurate. so I guess I'm not a Freaking > Super Genius. There was another National IQ Test tv program on last week here in the Netherlands. Great fun but rather inaccurate too of course. If you got all 65 questions right, you would apparently have had an iq of 147. I got 3 questions wrong :-( Jaap

hahahahahahahaha Dan :) --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gilles Roux" <grrroux@f...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "pi3p14159265" > <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > > > Anyone in Mensa? > > Sorry, with an IQ of 58, I can't belong to any sect of pseudo- superior > people. Too bad. > > > I don't intend to stir up any > > quarrels or debates on value of IQ as it pertains to intelligence. > > Wwwoooppsss :-))) > > Gilles.

When I was 13 (10 years ago) I get 151,2 but I amn't a member of that kind of soceties. I don't think IQ is important and that kind of societies is for cultured people (cultured and intelligent isn't the same). --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "pi3p14159265" <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > Hey all, > I know the subject of IQ has come up before, and I know there are > mixed feelings on the subject. I don't intend to stir up any > quarrels or debates on value of IQ as it pertains to intelligence. I > was just curious if any of our members where also members of Mensa, > or similar societies (Triple nines, prometheus, glia, TOPS)? It > seems that that kind of environment would be something a lot of the > members here would fit into. > > Just trying to pass the time ;) > Daniel

Barrels of thanks to all who sent me input for the survey. My guess is that we will be pluggin it all into excel and make charts and graphs and stuff. I'll post the results on my website when i finish the project. Thanks again! jake

Yeah, but when I took the test for G.T.(meaning: Geek Territory) at my school, the teacher said I got one of the highest scores she had ever seen. So maybe I am a freaking super genius. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Lars Petrus <lars@n...> wrote: > At least you're smart enough to figure that out :) > > /Lars > > At 1:19 AM +0000 1/21/04, Michael Atkinson wrote: > > > >I took an online IQ test once and got a 177, which is like a FREAKING > >SUPER GENIUS!!. But I know a lot of people who took it, and no one > >got less than 160. And 130 is supposed to be genius. So it's not very > >accurate. so I guess I'm not a Freaking Super Genius. > > > -- > "They say the grass is greener on the other side, but have you ever > flipped it over?" > > Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@l... http://lar5.com

That's interesting, I'll have to look at that Turn'Push puzzle sometime. But my program was counting R2 as one move not two. So this is a "mixed metric" I think. I'm counting U2 as two moves. I think your calculation is the same in that for quarter turns you are still counting R2 as a single move. I'll calculate out <U, -U, U2, R2 > and I'm sure I'll get depth = 20. On Wednesday 21 January 2004 03:11 am, _jaap wrote: > --- Mark Longridge wrote: > > Here are the new calculations: > > Calculating < U, R2 >... > > Take a look at the page on my site about the Turn'Push puzzle. It is > equivalent to the <U,R2> cube group. On that page I have a table > showing the number of positions in QTM vs HTM. > http://www.geocities.com/jaapsch/puzzles/turnpush.htm > > Jaap

Jaap, I just re-ran my program for < U, -U, U2, R2 >. My numbers matched your results. 9 antipodes in the "mixed metric". Have you been doing God's Algorithm calculations for other puzzles as well? Mark > Take a look at the page on my site about the Turn'Push puzzle. It is > equivalent to the <U,R2> cube group. On that page I have a table > showing the number of positions in QTM vs HTM. > http://www.geocities.com/jaapsch/puzzles/turnpush.htm > > Jaap

> 9 antipodes in the "mixed metric" I should have said: 9 antipodes in the Q+H Metric.

Well if anyone is interested (and only if anyone is interested.) I am not a member of Mensa. MILKY WAY --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > Yeah, but when I took the test for G.T.(meaning: Geek Territory) at > my school, the teacher said I got one of the highest scores she had > ever seen. So maybe I am a freaking super genius. > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Lars Petrus > <lars@n...> wrote: > > At least you're smart enough to figure that out :) > > > > /Lars > > > > At 1:19 AM +0000 1/21/04, Michael Atkinson wrote: > > > > > >I took an online IQ test once and got a 177, which is like a > FREAKING > > >SUPER GENIUS!!. But I know a lot of people who took it, and no one > > >got less than 160. And 130 is supposed to be genius. So it's not > very > > >accurate. so I guess I'm not a Freaking Super Genius. > > > > > > -- > > "They say the grass is greener on the other side, but have you ever > > flipped it over?" > > > > Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@l... http://lar5.com

Does anybody have Cube Explorer set up to give results in the quarter turn metric? I haven't been able to. Although I think turns should be counted by slice turns, and at the very least face turns, I would like to see how the solutions very. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

Hey Tyson, Is Winnit Lounge part of Winnit Center? I gueass I'm asking where it is on campus. What parking is near? How do you get there from 210? I suppose something like one of Ton's Rubik's Studio cubes could be a prize or part of one. David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > Hey, > > That could be arranged. My biggest problem is obtaining money to buy the prizes. > The problem being I don't think I can get funding until the spring term from my > school so pretty much if not enough people sign up (and I already lowered the entry > fee from 5 to 3), then the money comes from my pocket which, I guess I'm willing to > do a bit in the name of the cube. Do you have any good ideas on an alternate prize? I > wonder how much trophies cost. I should look into that perhaps. It'd be rather silly > to give cubes away as prizes ;-) > > -Tyson > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@y...> > wrote: > > Hi, > > > > The tournament sound good, but how about an alternate first prize in > > case the winner doesn't want a Speed Stacks Stackmat Timer. > > > > DJ > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > > > Announcing the Caltech Winter Term 2004 Rubik's Cube Tournament! > > > > > > Place: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA > > > Location: Winnett Lounge > > > Date: Saturday, January 24, 2004 > > > Time: 6:15 PM - Check-In and Registration, 7:00 PM - Competition > > > Event: 3x3x3 Speedsolve > > > First Prize: Speed Stacks Stackmat Timer > > > > > > Early Entry Fee: $5 (Before January 21) > > > Day-Of Entry Fee: $6 > > > > > > E-mail tmao@i... to enter. > > > > > > Rules to come.

> Does anybody have Cube Explorer set up to give results > in the quarter turn metric? I haven't been able to. I don't have Cube Explorer, but if you have at least 700MB memory, and are willing to use the command line rather than a nice GUI program, and if you have a C compiler, I do have a fast optimal solver for you that will work in either QTM or HTM. > Although I think turns should be counted by slice > turns, and at the very least face turns, I would like > to see how the solutions very. The solutions vary a *lot*. I can give you a database of tens of thousands of positions with both QTM and HTM optimal sequences for each. There usually appears to be no relation between the HTM and QTM optimal sequences.

Can anyone help me with the rubiks applet by Jelinek Josef? I'm confused as to how to work with it. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > Can anyone help me with the rubiks applet by Jelinek > Josef? I'm confused as to how to work with it. --- It's very easy to work: <applet code="Cube.class" width=160 height=183> <param name="bgcolor" value="FF8000"> <param name="facelets" value="yyyyyyyyywwwwwwwwwrrrrrrrrrooooooooobbbbbbbbbggggggggg"> <param name="move" value="R U R' U' R U R' U' R U R'"> </applet> d=gray w=white g=green y=yellow b=blue r=red o=orange ... each letter in the string yyy... etc represents a facelet on the cube, They follow a fairly logical order, except for the blue face which seems to be backwards. I would recommend setting everything to gray, except for one facelet, just to get a feel for the order in which the facelets occur in the string. You can do this several times, and build up a picture of how it all works. <param name="bgcolor" value="FF8000"> = colour of the background in hexadecimal... set this to whatever you need. <param name="move" value="R U R' U' R U R' U' R U R'"> = the algorithms of course. <applet code="Cube.class" width=160 height=183> = there are two files which make up the applet, Cube.class and cube_misto[1].java, you must have both of these files in the same directory as the html file for it to display on the webpage. Good Luck, Dan Harris

Yesterday I bought the 'Holland cube', which is basically a 3x3x3 with pictures on the faces. This means all 9 stickers of a face form one picture. During solving this baby I encountered problems with the center pieces making quarter turns during LL algorythms. This means I solved the cube but two of the centres don't fit the picture (turned 90 degrees). This problem doesn't occur when solving a normal 3x3x3 because the stickers look the same no matter how they're turned :P Anyone know how to work around this problem? I think certain algorytms just can't be used. Greets, Koen

Hi Koen , this is what people mean by the "cube supergroup". It is a slightly harder problem than the usual cube. You can develop moves that just turn the centres quite easily by carrying out say one position move and then putting the face back in two different moves (say putting corners and edges back separately). Haven't done this sort of thing for a while but there have been posts fairly recently I think. Duncan ----- Original Message ----- From: Koen Heltzel To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2004 3:33 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] solving a picture cube Yesterday I bought the 'Holland cube', which is basically a 3x3x3 with pictures on the faces. This means all 9 stickers of a face form one picture. During solving this baby I encountered problems with the center pieces making quarter turns during LL algorythms. This means I solved the cube but two of the centres don't fit the picture (turned 90 degrees). This problem doesn't occur when solving a normal 3x3x3 because the stickers look the same no matter how they're turned :P Anyone know how to work around this problem? I think certain algorytms just can't be used. Greets, Koen Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

hello, you can just use some algs depending on the 2 centers you need fixed. If the 2 centers you need are on the U and L, where the U center needs to be moved clockwise and the L needs to be moved counter clockwise, use this UV'H'VU'V'HV.....v = vertical slice, H = horizontal slice, if you need the opposite, do this move backwards --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Koen Heltzel" <allyourbase@h...> wrote: > Yesterday I bought the 'Holland cube', which is basically a 3x3x3 > with pictures on the faces. This means all 9 stickers of a face form > one picture. During solving this baby I encountered problems with > the center pieces making quarter turns during LL algorythms. This > means I solved the cube but two of the centres don't fit the picture > (turned 90 degrees). This problem doesn't occur when solving a > normal 3x3x3 because the stickers look the same no matter how > they're turned :P > > Anyone know how to work around this problem? I think certain > algorytms just can't be used. > > Greets, Koen

I've played with those before. What I usually do is to perform the "Z" permutation twice - one scrambles it and the other returns it to solved state. This will rotate some of the centers, but I can't remember which ones. Also, you could do the "Z" permutation twice and the do the "+" permutation to solve the cube again. It's fun to experiment with those and see what they do. Adrian Koen Heltzel <allyourbase@...> wrote: Yesterday I bought the 'Holland cube', which is basically a 3x3x3 with pictures on the faces. This means all 9 stickers of a face form one picture. During solving this baby I encountered problems with the center pieces making quarter turns during LL algorythms. This means I solved the cube but two of the centres don't fit the picture (turned 90 degrees). This problem doesn't occur when solving a normal 3x3x3 because the stickers look the same no matter how they're turned :P Anyone know how to work around this problem? I think certain algorytms just can't be used. Greets, Koen Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

A very simple way is to perform the "fried egg/Japanese flag" move, which is: 1. any quarter slice move 2. any other slice move 3. reverse 1 4. reverse 2 Now you have discoupled the centers from their layers. Turn any side, and then reverse the slice moves, and your middle move. This will twist the center of the side you moved exactly how you moved it, and the center of the color that was surrounding it in the opposite direction. If you want to get fancy, you can do two or more moves, just as long as you can reverse them in the end. -- Master: You were destined to die! It was written! Buffy: What can I say? I flunked the written. Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@... http://lar5.com

Thanks guys, that makes sense. But these algorythms are executed after 'solving' the cube. So it adds up to the solution. Not that I was planning on speedcubing with a picture cube :P - Koen

--- Koen Heltzel wrote: > Thanks guys, that makes sense. > But these algorythms are executed after 'solving' the cube. > So it adds up to the solution. > Not that I was planning on speedcubing with a picture cube :P You can actually solve the centers as you go, if you want to use a less-than-optimal solution. Specifically, I was thinking of Mark Jeays' solution ( http://www.jeays.net/rubiks.htm ), which you can apply such that center adjustment is not necessary at the end. When creating the cross, make sure the first 5 centers are properly aligned. They will stay that way throughout. After doing the F2L (minus a corner edge pair) and orienting the LL edges, place them in relation to not only each other, but also the center (thus orienting the center properly). Corner permutation and orientation can then be completed (with his algs) without disturbing any centers). It's a less efficient method, but since recognition can be more difficult with a picture cube anyways, it may be advantageous to take an approach, like his, that concentrates on only one piece at a time (instead of C/E pairs during F2L). - Grant

Hi David, Winnet Lounge is part of Winnet Center. Just take the stairs. As for directions from the 210... depending on which direction you come from, just exit on Hill Avenue. Go South on Hill Avenue and turn right on Del Mar. Then you can turn left on Holliston and there will be a parking structure on your left side. You'll want to ask security where to park and I'm sure they'll let you know. Security is on the first floor. Just park your car and just make sure it's okay as sometimes they will give visitors a special permit. As for where Winnet Lounge is on campus, Caltech as a campus is really really really small so you should have no trouble finding it using the directory but here's a rough location. From the parking structure, walk south on holliston until the corner of San Pasqual and Holliston. Then turn right into campus... and it's left past some tables and a small cafe. You can e-mail me at tmao@... if you have any more questions. Street parking is also another option. If you go further south on Hill ave., you'll find california ave. Turn right and usually there are spots open on a saturday night. I ordered a lot of stuff from Ton... $285.63 worth of stuff to be exact. YIKES! But hey, they're cubes. You gotta have cubes. The scheduled date for the delivery is January 26... so I don't know if I'll get them in time for the tournament but maybe I'll get lucky and they'll come. By the way, you haven't e-mailed me saying you will enter for the tournament. Do you plan to just show up at the door? -Tyson --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > Hey Tyson, > > Is Winnit Lounge part of Winnit Center? I gueass I'm asking where > it is on campus. > > What parking is near? > > How do you get there from 210? > > I suppose something like one of Ton's Rubik's Studio cubes could be > a prize or part of one. > > David J > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > > Hey, > > > > That could be arranged. My biggest problem is obtaining money to > buy the prizes. > > The problem being I don't think I can get funding until the spring > term from my > > school so pretty much if not enough people sign up (and I already > lowered the entry > > fee from 5 to 3), then the money comes from my pocket which, I guess > I'm willing to > > do a bit in the name of the cube. Do you have any good ideas on an > alternate prize? I > > wonder how much trophies cost. I should look into that perhaps. > It'd be rather silly > > to give cubes away as prizes ;-) > > > > -Tyson > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" > <d_j_salvia@y...> > > wrote: > > > Hi, > > > > > > The tournament sound good, but how about an alternate first prize in > > > case the winner doesn't want a Speed Stacks Stackmat Timer. > > > > > > DJ > > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > > > > Announcing the Caltech Winter Term 2004 Rubik's Cube Tournament! > > > > > > > > Place: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA > > > > Location: Winnett Lounge > > > > Date: Saturday, January 24, 2004 > > > > Time: 6:15 PM - Check-In and Registration, 7:00 PM - Competition > > > > Event: 3x3x3 Speedsolve > > > > First Prize: Speed Stacks Stackmat Timer > > > > > > > > Early Entry Fee: $5 (Before January 21) > > > > Day-Of Entry Fee: $6 > > > > > > > > E-mail tmao@i... to enter. > > > > > > > > Rules to come.

Hi everyone... I finally added the picture pages and WC Experience to my website So you can now find all the old pictures and diary at the usual address! www.cubestation.co.uk - and click on the links in the red panel. Enjoy! Dan Harris :)

ahem... well, the wednesday contest is up and running, again... every wednesday it will restart a new week. this is week 1 of saga 2. compete or don't, but just have fun, eh. http://www.freewebs.com/wedcontest brent :) --Brent --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Tyson, Thanks for the directions. > By the way, you haven't e-mailed me saying you will enter for the tournament. Do you plan to just show up at the door? If I get there! :^) DJ

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Koen Heltzel" <allyourbase@h...> wrote: > Yesterday I bought the 'Holland cube', which is basically a 3x3x3 > with pictures on the faces. This means all 9 stickers of a face form > one picture. During solving this baby I encountered problems with > the center pieces making quarter turns during LL algorythms. This > means I solved the cube but two of the centres don't fit the picture > (turned 90 degrees). This problem doesn't occur when solving a > normal 3x3x3 because the stickers look the same no matter how > they're turned :P > > Anyone know how to work around this problem? I think certain > algorytms just can't be used. > > Greets, Koen Hi Koen, Interesting answers you've gotten so far. I'm amazed sometimes at the different approaches different people find. Anyway, here's another one. Put the side having one center that you wish to rotate on the front F, and a second one on the Left, Back or Right side. 1. Move the center to the Up side, and 2. rotate the Up side the way you want the center turned. This messes up other things. 3. Return the center to the Front side. 4. Move the other center laterally to the Front side and 5. reverse the procedure: move the second center to the Up side, and 6. rotate the Up side the other way. This unmesses up those other things. 7. Return that center to the Front side and then 8. Return that center to it's own side laterally. Sorry if that's confusing. DJ

If you have anymore concerns about directions, just take down the non-emergency number for Caltech's security from www.caltech.edu and they can help direct you. -Tyson --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > Hi Tyson, > > Thanks for the directions. > > > By the way, you haven't e-mailed me saying you will enter for the > tournament. Do you plan to just show up at the door? > > If I get there! :^) > > DJ

Hey everyone, I see that there has been some questions recently about the 3x3x3 supercube, and I thought I would add another. About a week ago one of my friends gave me a picture cube with each center sticker having 4 distinct rotations (i.e. a supercube) and since I had left my homemade one at home I used this one to have fun supercubing. Anyway to make a long story short I've been doing a lot of thinking on the supercube lately and I still have one nagging question. I'm sure you group theory buffs already know this, but I discovered that the parity of the corners, edges, and centers are always the same with respect to two pieces swaps, two piece swaps, and quarter turns respectively. I thought this was a cool fact and anyway I'll come back to this. After reading the website "How to solve almost any Rubik-like puzzle" at http://www.mindspring.com/~alanh/rubikpuzzles.html I was able to alter all of my center rotation algs to create ones with fewer moves, except for one case. My previous alg to rotate one center clockwise and the other one counter-clockwise was (E'R'ER)*5 which I found via trial an error when looking for an alg that scrambled the cube and brought it back to solved in a short number of moves. After reading the above website though, I quickly discovered ME'M'UMEM'U' and a similar alg ME2M'UME2M' if the pieces needing to be flipped are on opposite faces. One position still confuses me though, that is when only one center is flipped, and it is flipped two quarter turns away from solved. This is clearly still a position with even parity, since in this position the corners and edges both have even parity. However I am confused about an efficient way to solve this position. The strategy I use now is to find an alg that changes the parity of the cube (i.e. from even to odd or odd to even) and also will scramble and solve the cube again after two reptitions. The alg I use most often is simply one of the permutation algs in the 2 or 3 look LL, L'U'LULF'L2ULUL'U'LF which happens to be, for me, the fastest of the permutation algs that has the satisfactory characteristics. So anyway this alg, if you don't have a cube handy, switches the edges UR and UL and switches the corners UBL and UFL, creating odd parity in the corners and edges and necessarily also in the centers by rotating the top face center once clockwise. By applying this alg again, you switch UR and UL again and UBL and UFL again, solving them and also again creating even parity, and you perform one more clockwise turn on the U face center, thereby rotating only the U center twice and returning the cube to the solved state. What disturbs me is that I know there must be a more efficient way to solve this position. I remember at the WC when DanK brought up whether or not this positions was possible that Doug Li showed us a very short move that rotated just one center, though I don't remember what the move was. So anyway I just know that there is a more elegant way to do this, but does it involve the same strategy? Do you have to use the formula from the "How to solve any rubik-like puzzle" XsX's' or is there a "shortest" alg that achieves odd parity and solves with two repetitions such that you can just apply that alg twice and you end up with only one center flipped? Or is there an even more elegant move that just directly solves this, and what strategy would that use? This one center flipped position also is related to the position where say two centers are rotated clockwise, or two are rotated counterclockwise. To solve those two positions would you just rotate one center twice, then solve the last two by the formula XsX's or are there ways to "direct solve" those positions as well? So anyway I've put a lot of though into this over the past week and this position has totally stumped me, does anyone have any ideas? For this position do you somehow have to change the centers to odd parity via an alg, and then use another (or the same) alg to return to even parity or is there a way to simply direct solve it? Any ideas would be welcome, and I'll post if I come up with anything as well. If someone already knows how to handle these cases in an efficient way then please post! If no, maybe we can put our heads together as a group and come up with some really nice algs to do this (no computer help please! It is more fun to do this using our heads!) Hope this might start some conversation on supercubes, Chris

My method for rotating the center cube of the U face 180 degrees is as follows: (R L U2 R' L' U) *2 --- cmhardw <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > Hey everyone, I see that there has been some > questions recently about > the 3x3x3 supercube, and I thought I would add > another. About a week > ago one of my friends gave me a picture cube with > each center sticker > having 4 distinct rotations (i.e. a supercube) and > since I had left > my homemade one at home I used this one to have fun > supercubing. > Anyway to make a long story short I've been doing a > lot of thinking > on the supercube lately and I still have one nagging > question. I'm > sure you group theory buffs already know this, but I > discovered that > the parity of the corners, edges, and centers are > always the same > with respect to two pieces swaps, two piece swaps, > and quarter turns > respectively. I thought this was a cool fact and > anyway I'll come > back to this. After reading the website "How to > solve almost any > Rubik-like puzzle" at > http://www.mindspring.com/~alanh/rubikpuzzles.html I > was able to > alter all of my center rotation algs to create ones > with fewer moves, > except for one case. My previous alg to rotate one > center clockwise > and the other one counter-clockwise was (E'R'ER)*5 > which I found via > trial an error when looking for an alg that > scrambled the cube and > brought it back to solved in a short number of > moves. After reading > the above website though, I quickly discovered > ME'M'UMEM'U' and a > similar alg ME2M'UME2M' if the pieces needing to be > flipped are on > opposite faces. One position still confuses me > though, that is when > only one center is flipped, and it is flipped two > quarter turns away > from solved. This is clearly still a position with > even parity, > since in this position the corners and edges both > have even parity. > However I am confused about an efficient way to > solve this position. > The strategy I use now is to find an alg that > changes the parity of > the cube (i.e. from even to odd or odd to even) and > also will > scramble and solve the cube again after two > reptitions. The alg I > use most often is simply one of the permutation algs > in the 2 or 3 > look LL, L'U'LULF'L2ULUL'U'LF which happens to be, > for me, the > fastest of the permutation algs that has the > satisfactory > characteristics. So anyway this alg, if you don't > have a cube handy, > switches the edges UR and UL and switches the > corners UBL and UFL, > creating odd parity in the corners and edges and > necessarily also in > the centers by rotating the top face center once > clockwise. By > applying this alg again, you switch UR and UL again > and UBL and UFL > again, solving them and also again creating even > parity, and you > perform one more clockwise turn on the U face > center, thereby > rotating only the U center twice and returning the > cube to the solved > state. What disturbs me is that I know there must > be a more > efficient way to solve this position. I remember at > the WC when DanK > brought up whether or not this positions was > possible that Doug Li > showed us a very short move that rotated just one > center, though I > don't remember what the move was. So anyway I just > know that there > is a more elegant way to do this, but does it > involve the same > strategy? Do you have to use the formula from the > "How to solve any > rubik-like puzzle" XsX's' or is there a "shortest" > alg that achieves > odd parity and solves with two repetitions such that > you can just > apply that alg twice and you end up with only one > center flipped? Or > is there an even more elegant move that just > directly solves this, > and what strategy would that use? > > This one center flipped position also is related to > the position > where say two centers are rotated clockwise, or two > are rotated > counterclockwise. To solve those two positions > would you just rotate > one center twice, then solve the last two by the > formula XsX's or are > there ways to "direct solve" those positions as > well? So anyway I've > put a lot of though into this over the past week and > this position > has totally stumped me, does anyone have any ideas? > For this > position do you somehow have to change the centers > to odd parity via > an alg, and then use another (or the same) alg to > return to even > parity or is there a way to simply direct solve it? > > Any ideas would be welcome, and I'll post if I come > up with anything > as well. > > If someone already knows how to handle these cases > in an efficient > way then please post! If no, maybe we can put our > heads together as > a group and come up with some really nice algs to do > this (no > computer help please! It is more fun to do this > using our heads!) > > Hope this might start some conversation on > supercubes, > Chris > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

Wow! I just looked at that alg and that is very cool how that works. It seems though that your alg also follows the same strategy that my very inefficient alg did, namely to create odd parity via an alg that solves the cube after two repetitions, then restore to even parity on the second repetition. It seems the first part of your alg, R L U2 R' L' maintains even parity, but then once you do the U move it completes the whole alg so to speak and creates odd parity overall. The first part of the alg done again places the U layer back together as well as the first two layers but the cube still has odd parity until the final U turn, which also restores the cube. I wonder if this is the only approach that will solve this position? I've noticed that it is also possible to avoid this position in solving a supercube, namely to orient the top face center correctly simply by turning the U face after you have solved the F2L and oriented the LL. Doing a 3 edge swap rotates two centers twice, and doing a 3 corner swap does not affect the centers, so the cube can be solved from here with nothing more than a 2 center flip to do at the end. There are probably moves that move the edges without affecting the centers too, which would make this approach even more efficient. So in speed supercubing, would it be better to have fast moves for solving the last two centers (assuming you solve the first two layers in such a way as to preserve the first 5 centers) and then fix the last center and any ones your LL algs may have misaligned, or to have all LL algs that do not affect the orientation, but perform more algs on average per solve to complete the LL and avoid any center rotations? That is a really cool algorithm by the way for flipping one center twice. I wonder if there are other algs that can do this in 12 moves, or if there is an alg that does it in less? Just trying to get some conversation going, Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, E M <esadmofo@y...> wrote: > My method for rotating the center cube of the U face > 180 degrees is as follows: > (R L U2 R' L' U) *2 > > > --- cmhardw <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > Hey everyone, I see that there has been some > > questions recently about > > the 3x3x3 supercube, and I thought I would add > > another. About a week > > ago one of my friends gave me a picture cube with > > each center sticker > > having 4 distinct rotations (i.e. a supercube) and > > since I had left > > my homemade one at home I used this one to have fun > > supercubing. > > Anyway to make a long story short I've been doing a > > lot of thinking > > on the supercube lately and I still have one nagging > > question. I'm > > sure you group theory buffs already know this, but I > > discovered that > > the parity of the corners, edges, and centers are > > always the same > > with respect to two pieces swaps, two piece swaps, > > and quarter turns > > respectively. I thought this was a cool fact and > > anyway I'll come > > back to this. After reading the website "How to > > solve almost any > > Rubik-like puzzle" at > > http://www.mindspring.com/~alanh/rubikpuzzles.html I > > was able to > > alter all of my center rotation algs to create ones > > with fewer moves, > > except for one case. My previous alg to rotate one > > center clockwise > > and the other one counter-clockwise was (E'R'ER)*5 > > which I found via > > trial an error when looking for an alg that > > scrambled the cube and > > brought it back to solved in a short number of > > moves. After reading > > the above website though, I quickly discovered > > ME'M'UMEM'U' and a > > similar alg ME2M'UME2M' if the pieces needing to be > > flipped are on > > opposite faces. One position still confuses me > > though, that is when > > only one center is flipped, and it is flipped two > > quarter turns away > > from solved. This is clearly still a position with > > even parity, > > since in this position the corners and edges both > > have even parity. > > However I am confused about an efficient way to > > solve this position. > > The strategy I use now is to find an alg that > > changes the parity of > > the cube (i.e. from even to odd or odd to even) and > > also will > > scramble and solve the cube again after two > > reptitions. The alg I > > use most often is simply one of the permutation algs > > in the 2 or 3 > > look LL, L'U'LULF'L2ULUL'U'LF which happens to be, > > for me, the > > fastest of the permutation algs that has the > > satisfactory > > characteristics. So anyway this alg, if you don't > > have a cube handy, > > switches the edges UR and UL and switches the > > corners UBL and UFL, > > creating odd parity in the corners and edges and > > necessarily also in > > the centers by rotating the top face center once > > clockwise. By > > applying this alg again, you switch UR and UL again > > and UBL and UFL > > again, solving them and also again creating even > > parity, and you > > perform one more clockwise turn on the U face > > center, thereby > > rotating only the U center twice and returning the > > cube to the solved > > state. What disturbs me is that I know there must > > be a more > > efficient way to solve this position. I remember at > > the WC when DanK > > brought up whether or not this positions was > > possible that Doug Li > > showed us a very short move that rotated just one > > center, though I > > don't remember what the move was. So anyway I just > > know that there > > is a more elegant way to do this, but does it > > involve the same > > strategy? Do you have to use the formula from the > > "How to solve any > > rubik-like puzzle" XsX's' or is there a "shortest" > > alg that achieves > > odd parity and solves with two repetitions such that > > you can just > > apply that alg twice and you end up with only one > > center flipped? Or > > is there an even more elegant move that just > > directly solves this, > > and what strategy would that use? > > > > This one center flipped position also is related to > > the position > > where say two centers are rotated clockwise, or two > > are rotated > > counterclockwise. To solve those two positions > > would you just rotate > > one center twice, then solve the last two by the > > formula XsX's or are > > there ways to "direct solve" those positions as > > well? So anyway I've > > put a lot of though into this over the past week and > > this position > > has totally stumped me, does anyone have any ideas? > > For this > > position do you somehow have to change the centers > > to odd parity via > > an alg, and then use another (or the same) alg to > > return to even > > parity or is there a way to simply direct solve it? > > > > Any ideas would be welcome, and I'll post if I come > > up with anything > > as well. > > > > If someone already knows how to handle these cases > > in an efficient > > way then please post! If no, maybe we can put our > > heads together as > > a group and come up with some really nice algs to do > > this (no > > computer help please! It is more fun to do this > > using our heads!) > > > > Hope this might start some conversation on > > supercubes, > > Chris > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! > http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

I'm not sure if there are shorter algs or not. I figured the alg out on my own. So I'm sure there must be shorter ones. The only other one that I'm aware of is one I found in a book, I'm not sure which book. It has 20 moves: (R U R'U)*5 --- cmhardw <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > Wow! I just looked at that alg and that is very > cool how that > works. It seems though that your alg also follows > the same strategy > that my very inefficient alg did, namely to create > odd parity via an > alg that solves the cube after two repetitions, then > restore to even > parity on the second repetition. It seems the first > part of your > alg, R L U2 R' L' maintains even parity, but then > once you do the U > move it completes the whole alg so to speak and > creates odd parity > overall. The first part of the alg done again > places the U layer > back together as well as the first two layers but > the cube still has > odd parity until the final U turn, which also > restores the cube. I > wonder if this is the only approach that will solve > this position? > I've noticed that it is also possible to avoid this > position in > solving a supercube, namely to orient the top face > center correctly > simply by turning the U face after you have solved > the F2L and > oriented the LL. Doing a 3 edge swap rotates two > centers twice, and > doing a 3 corner swap does not affect the centers, > so the cube can be > solved from here with nothing more than a 2 center > flip to do at the > end. There are probably moves that move the edges > without affecting > the centers too, which would make this approach even > more efficient. > So in speed supercubing, would it be better to have > fast moves for > solving the last two centers (assuming you solve the > first two layers > in such a way as to preserve the first 5 centers) > and then fix the > last center and any ones your LL algs may have > misaligned, or to have > all LL algs that do not affect the orientation, but > perform more algs > on average per solve to complete the LL and avoid > any center > rotations? > > That is a really cool algorithm by the way for > flipping one center > twice. I wonder if there are other algs that can do > this in 12 > moves, or if there is an alg that does it in less? > > Just trying to get some conversation going, > Chris > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, E M > <esadmofo@y...> > wrote: > > My method for rotating the center cube of the U > face > > 180 degrees is as follows: > > (R L U2 R' L' U) *2 > > > > > > --- cmhardw <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > > Hey everyone, I see that there has been some > > > questions recently about > > > the 3x3x3 supercube, and I thought I would add > > > another. About a week > > > ago one of my friends gave me a picture cube > with > > > each center sticker > > > having 4 distinct rotations (i.e. a supercube) > and > > > since I had left > > > my homemade one at home I used this one to have > fun > > > supercubing. > > > Anyway to make a long story short I've been > doing a > > > lot of thinking > > > on the supercube lately and I still have one > nagging > > > question. I'm > > > sure you group theory buffs already know this, > but I > > > discovered that > > > the parity of the corners, edges, and centers > are > > > always the same > > > with respect to two pieces swaps, two piece > swaps, > > > and quarter turns > > > respectively. I thought this was a cool fact > and > > > anyway I'll come > > > back to this. After reading the website "How to > > > solve almost any > > > Rubik-like puzzle" at > > > > http://www.mindspring.com/~alanh/rubikpuzzles.html I > > > was able to > > > alter all of my center rotation algs to create > ones > > > with fewer moves, > > > except for one case. My previous alg to rotate > one > > > center clockwise > > > and the other one counter-clockwise was > (E'R'ER)*5 > > > which I found via > > > trial an error when looking for an alg that > > > scrambled the cube and > > > brought it back to solved in a short number of > > > moves. After reading > > > the above website though, I quickly discovered > > > ME'M'UMEM'U' and a > > > similar alg ME2M'UME2M' if the pieces needing to > be > > > flipped are on > > > opposite faces. One position still confuses me > > > though, that is when > > > only one center is flipped, and it is flipped > two > > > quarter turns away > > > from solved. This is clearly still a position > with > > > even parity, > > > since in this position the corners and edges > both > > > have even parity. > > > However I am confused about an efficient way to > > > solve this position. > > > The strategy I use now is to find an alg that > > > changes the parity of > > > the cube (i.e. from even to odd or odd to even) > and > > > also will > > > scramble and solve the cube again after two > > > reptitions. The alg I > > > use most often is simply one of the permutation > algs > > > in the 2 or 3 > > > look LL, L'U'LULF'L2ULUL'U'LF which happens to > be, > > > for me, the > > > fastest of the permutation algs that has the > > > satisfactory > > > characteristics. So anyway this alg, if you > don't > > > have a cube handy, > > > switches the edges UR and UL and switches the > > > corners UBL and UFL, > > > creating odd parity in the corners and edges and > > > necessarily also in > > > the centers by rotating the top face center once > > > clockwise. By > > > applying this alg again, you switch UR and UL > again > > > and UBL and UFL > > > again, solving them and also again creating even > > > parity, and you > > > perform one more clockwise turn on the U face > > > center, thereby > > > rotating only the U center twice and returning > the > > > cube to the solved > > > state. What disturbs me is that I know there > must > > > be a more > > > efficient way to solve this position. I > remember at > > > the WC when DanK > > > brought up whether or not this positions was > > > possible that Doug Li > > > showed us a very short move that rotated just > one > > > center, though I > > > don't remember what the move was. So anyway I > just > > > know that there > > > is a more elegant way to do this, but does it > > > involve the same > > > strategy? Do you have to use the formula from > the > > > "How to solve any > > > rubik-like puzzle" XsX's' or is there a > "shortest" > > > alg that achieves > > > odd parity and solves with two repetitions such > that > > > you can just > > > apply that alg twice and you end up with only > one > > > center flipped? Or > === message truncated === __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

So silly, a few people think that Chris, though it was a world championship, rigged his cube for the one-handed solve. http://ebaumsworld.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8116 I don't know if I believe that guy. If he could really solve the cube in 45 seconds, he would realize a few things. Just because a cube looks 60% scrambled doesn't mean it actually is. Same colors on a face don't mean anything. In fact, a cube can look like it's scrambled and actually not. Furthermore, performing algorithms messes other things up so having something "slightly solved" doesn't actually help unless you can make use of it right away or find some interpolation. And come on... 45 seconds isn't even average for Chris. -Tyson

Hey! All those face-turning algs mentioned here were known already in early 80's and mentioned in the famous leflet book "Notes on the Magic Cube" by David B Singmaster (i may have gotten the title wrong, it's not at hand). Other interesting supergroup algs are: L2F2R2-Ds-B2R2F2-Us = {B2,L2} F2R2sF2-Ds-R2F2sR2-Us = {F2,R2,B2,L2} But when solving the supercube in as fwe moves as possible one never uses those algs. Instead all the cubicles are positioned correctly with respect to face centers straight away. Normally this can be done in 55-60 moves :D But it requires some practice to do that ;-) Regards, Per K Fredlund > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, E M <esadmofo@y...> wrote: > I'm not sure if there are shorter algs or not. I > figured the alg out on my own. So I'm sure there must > be shorter ones. The only other one that I'm aware of > is one I found in a book, I'm not sure which book. It > has 20 moves: > (R U R'U)*5 > > > --- cmhardw <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > Wow! I just looked at that alg and that is very > > cool how that > > works. It seems though that your alg also follows > > the same strategy > > that my very inefficient alg did, namely to create > > odd parity via an > > alg that solves the cube after two repetitions, then > > restore to even > > parity on the second repetition. It seems the first > > part of your > > alg, R L U2 R' L' maintains even parity, but then > > once you do the U > > move it completes the whole alg so to speak and > > creates odd parity > > overall. The first part of the alg done again > > places the U layer > > back together as well as the first two layers but > > the cube still has > > odd parity until the final U turn, which also > > restores the cube. I > > wonder if this is the only approach that will solve > > this position? > > I've noticed that it is also possible to avoid this > > position in > > solving a supercube, namely to orient the top face > > center correctly > > simply by turning the U face after you have solved > > the F2L and > > oriented the LL. Doing a 3 edge swap rotates two > > centers twice, and > > doing a 3 corner swap does not affect the centers, > > so the cube can be > > solved from here with nothing more than a 2 center > > flip to do at the > > end. There are probably moves that move the edges > > without affecting > > the centers too, which would make this approach even > > more efficient. > > So in speed supercubing, would it be better to have > > fast moves for > > solving the last two centers (assuming you solve the > > first two layers > > in such a way as to preserve the first 5 centers) > > and then fix the > > last center and any ones your LL algs may have > > misaligned, or to have > > all LL algs that do not affect the orientation, but > > perform more algs > > on average per solve to complete the LL and avoid > > any center > > rotations? > > > > That is a really cool algorithm by the way for > > flipping one center > > twice. I wonder if there are other algs that can do > > this in 12 > > moves, or if there is an alg that does it in less? > > > > Just trying to get some conversation going, > > Chris > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, E M > > <esadmofo@y...> > > wrote: > > > My method for rotating the center cube of the U > > face > > > 180 degrees is as follows: > > > (R L U2 R' L' U) *2 > > > > > > > > > --- cmhardw <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > > > Hey everyone, I see that there has been some > > > > questions recently about > > > > the 3x3x3 supercube, and I thought I would add > > > > another. About a week > > > > ago one of my friends gave me a picture cube > > with > > > > each center sticker > > > > having 4 distinct rotations (i.e. a supercube) > > and > > > > since I had left > > > > my homemade one at home I used this one to have > > fun > > > > supercubing. > > > > Anyway to make a long story short I've been > > doing a > > > > lot of thinking > > > > on the supercube lately and I still have one > > nagging > > > > question. I'm > > > > sure you group theory buffs already know this, > > but I > > > > discovered that > > > > the parity of the corners, edges, and centers > > are > > > > always the same > > > > with respect to two pieces swaps, two piece > > swaps, > > > > and quarter turns > > > > respectively. I thought this was a cool fact > > and > > > > anyway I'll come > > > > back to this. After reading the website "How to > > > > solve almost any > > > > Rubik-like puzzle" at > > > > > > http://www.mindspring.com/~alanh/rubikpuzzles.html I > > > > was able to > > > > alter all of my center rotation algs to create > > ones > > > > with fewer moves, > > > > except for one case. My previous alg to rotate > > one > > > > center clockwise > > > > and the other one counter-clockwise was > > (E'R'ER)*5 > > > > which I found via > > > > trial an error when looking for an alg that > > > > scrambled the cube and > > > > brought it back to solved in a short number of > > > > moves. After reading > > > > the above website though, I quickly discovered > > > > ME'M'UMEM'U' and a > > > > similar alg ME2M'UME2M' if the pieces needing to > > be > > > > flipped are on > > > > opposite faces. One position still confuses me > > > > though, that is when > > > > only one center is flipped, and it is flipped > > two > > > > quarter turns away > > > > from solved. This is clearly still a position > > with > > > > even parity, > > > > since in this position the corners and edges > > both > > > > have even parity. > > > > However I am confused about an efficient way to > > > > solve this position. > > > > The strategy I use now is to find an alg that > > > > changes the parity of > > > > the cube (i.e. from even to odd or odd to even) > > and > > > > also will > > > > scramble and solve the cube again after two > > > > reptitions. The alg I > > > > use most often is simply one of the permutation > > algs > > > > in the 2 or 3 > > > > look LL, L'U'LULF'L2ULUL'U'LF which happens to > > be, > > > > for me, the > > > > fastest of the permutation algs that has the > > > > satisfactory > > > > characteristics. So anyway this alg, if you > > don't > > > > have a cube handy, > > > > switches the edges UR and UL and switches the > > > > corners UBL and UFL, > > > > creating odd parity in the corners and edges and > > > > necessarily also in > > > > the centers by rotating the top face center once > > > > clockwise. By > > > > applying this alg again, you switch UR and UL > > again > > > > and UBL and UFL > > > > again, solving them and also again creating even > > > > parity, and you > > > > perform one more clockwise turn on the U face > > > > center, thereby > > > > rotating only the U center twice and returning > > the > > > > cube to the solved > > > > state. What disturbs me is that I know there > > must > > > > be a more > > > > efficient way to solve this position. I > > remember at > > > > the WC when DanK > > > > brought up whether or not this positions was > > > > possible that Doug Li > > > > showed us a very short move that rotated just > > one > > > > center, though I > > > > don't remember what the move was. So anyway I > > just > > > > know that there > > > > is a more elegant way to do this, but does it > > > > involve the same > > > > strategy? Do you have to use the formula from > > the > > > > "How to solve any > > > > rubik-like puzzle" XsX's' or is there a > > "shortest" > > > > alg that achieves > > > > odd parity and solves with two repetitions such > > that > > > > you can just > > > > apply that alg twice and you end up with only > > one > > > > center flipped? Or > > > === message truncated === > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! > http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > Ok, If you are in NC and ARE IN FAVOR of meeting up once or > regularly soon then please make this known...otherwise I have other > things to plan and do. Hi, I'm a newbie (to cubing and to the list), and I might be interested in getting together occasionally. Don't know that I'd be able to travel very far for it, though. I'm in Raleigh. Jimmy

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > [snip] My previous alg to rotate one center clockwise and the other one counter-clockwise was (E'R'ER)*5 which I found via trial an error when looking for an alg that scrambled the cube and brought it back to solved in a short number of moves. After reading the above website though, I quickly discovered ME'M'UMEM'U' and a similar alg ME2M'UME2M' if the pieces needing to be flipped are on opposite faces. < This alg can be used to rotate two centers opposite directions, whether those centers are adjacent or 180 degrees out: r U r' u r U' r' u' Properly: r U (or U2 or U') r' u (or u2 or u') r U' (or U2 or U) r' u' (or u2 or u) For the primary notation I use the small case letters to mean only the slices. This is different from the usage of small case letters in your secondary notation. I'd ask you to adopt the simpler, clearer notation, David J

Funny... and sad ;-) But someone linked to a nice simulator I hadn't seen before: http://www.eviltron.com/modules/esp/esp.html

I changed the color scheme of my 4x4 earlier today. All I had to do was swap the blue and yellow faces to get the scheme I wanted. But I didn't want to resticker 32 stickers. So... a) What's the minimum number of stickers you need to resticker to swap two adjacent faces? b) Find a short algorithm that when you execute it from a solved cube makes it obvious which stickers have to be restickered for your a) solution. c) How about a) and b) if you want to swap two opposite faces? d) What's the worst case color rescheming (keeping the same colors, though, otherwise the answer would obviously be 96 ;-))? e) For any of the restickering numbers, does it help to disassemble the cube? The answers to a) and c)a) are fairly easy, but I haven't thought about the other questions yet... Cheers! Stefan

also read the guestbook at speedcubing.com People think Ron's cube video was played backwards. It was obviously not because you can pick out the different steps, but I never thought about that. It would be rather easy to fake a video by simply scrambling a solved cube and playing backwards --barefoot Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > So silly, a few people think that Chris, though it was a world championship, rigged his > cube for the one-handed solve. > > http://ebaumsworld.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8116 > > I don't know if I believe that guy. If he could really solve the cube in 45 seconds, he > would realize a few things. Just because a cube looks 60% scrambled doesn't mean it > actually is. Same colors on a face don't mean anything. In fact, a cube can look like > it's scrambled and actually not. Furthermore, performing algorithms messes other > things up so having something "slightly solved" doesn't actually help unless you can > make use of it right away or find some interpolation. > > And come on... 45 seconds isn't even average for Chris. > > -Tyson

Though... people who think the cube video was played backwards won't know anything about the steps used to solve the cube. -Tyson --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Chris Sz..." <s2chris2@h...> wrote: > also read the guestbook at speedcubing.com People think Ron's cube > video was played backwards. It was obviously not because you can > pick out the different steps, but I never thought about that. It > would be rather easy to fake a video by simply scrambling a solved > cube and playing backwards > --barefoot Chris > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > > So silly, a few people think that Chris, though it was a world > championship, rigged his > > cube for the one-handed solve. > > > > http://ebaumsworld.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8116 > > > > I don't know if I believe that guy. If he could really solve the > cube in 45 seconds, he > > would realize a few things. Just because a cube looks 60% > scrambled doesn't mean it > > actually is. Same colors on a face don't mean anything. In fact, > a cube can look like > > it's scrambled and actually not. Furthermore, performing > algorithms messes other > > things up so having something "slightly solved" doesn't actually > help unless you can > > make use of it right away or find some interpolation. > > > > And come on... 45 seconds isn't even average for Chris. > > > > -Tyson

Hi everyone! Last week's FMC results are online, and a new challenge is ready for you to take part in! Can you get an advanced this week? Dan Harris :) - www.cubestation.co.uk

I'm currently trying to get a username there, so I can post and PROVE THEM WRONG. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > Though... people who think the cube video was played backwards won't know > anything about the steps used to solve the cube. > > -Tyson > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Chris Sz..." <s2chris2@h...> > wrote: > > also read the guestbook at speedcubing.com People think Ron's cube > > video was played backwards. It was obviously not because you can > > pick out the different steps, but I never thought about that. It > > would be rather easy to fake a video by simply scrambling a solved > > cube and playing backwards > > --barefoot Chris > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > > > So silly, a few people think that Chris, though it was a world > > championship, rigged his > > > cube for the one-handed solve. > > > > > > http://ebaumsworld.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8116 > > > > > > I don't know if I believe that guy. If he could really solve the > > cube in 45 seconds, he > > > would realize a few things. Just because a cube looks 60% > > scrambled doesn't mean it > > > actually is. Same colors on a face don't mean anything. In fact, > > a cube can look like > > > it's scrambled and actually not. Furthermore, performing > > algorithms messes other > > > things up so having something "slightly solved" doesn't actually > > help unless you can > > > make use of it right away or find some interpolation. > > > > > > And come on... 45 seconds isn't even average for Chris. > > > > > > -Tyson

This was a lot of fun to try and work out! I only got answers to part a) through part c), but I'm still thinking about the answers to the others. For switching the colors of two adjacent faces the minimum number of stickers I found that require switching is 10. Switch the U sticker of UFR with the D sticker of DFR, switch the B stickers of the edge group at BR with the L stickers of the edge of FL (only the edges, not including the corners on that edge) and switch the F stickers of UFL and DFL with the R stickers of UBR and DBR. As far as a "short" alg to make this obvious my shortest one is 77 moves in HTM. :) I broke it up into five parts to make it easier to read. To perform the alg just do each part right after the other: Part 1: D2 L2 B2 R B' R' B F R' F B' R' B R F2 U B2 L2 D2 Part 2: d2 B2 R2 u R2 d' R2 d R2 F2 d F2 u' B2 d2 Part 3: B d u' B' F' R' F R F D' F2 R F R F' R' F D B d' u B' Part 4: d R2 d2 U D' F2 U' D d Part 5: B' R' B R' B' R2 B F R F' R F R2 F' which makes 79 moves, but combining the parts in the most economical way I could, I reduced that to "only" 77 moves :) There has got to be a more efficient way to do this, I just did it by performing it in several steps. Here is the whole 77 move alg to show the position when performed on a solved cube. Moves in parenthesis can be done at the same time. D2 L2 B2 R B' R' B F R' F B' R' B R F2 U B2 L2 (D2 d2) B2 R2 u R2 d' R2 d R2 F2 d F2 u' B2 d' R2 d2 U D' F2 U' (D d) B d u' B' F' R' F R F D' F2 R F R F' R' F D B d' u B2 R' B R' B' R2 B F R F' R F R2 F' -------------------------- If you want to switch just two opposite faces the minimum number of stickers I could find needing to be removed and placed somewhere else is 8. Switch all the B face stickers of BUL BUR BDR BDL and F face stickers of FUL FUR FDR FDL. Here's an alg to make this obvious, same as for the first example. Again moves in parenthesis can be done at the same time. d2 r2 d2 (r2 l2) d2 l2 u2 R2 (u2 d2) L2 D2 L2 R2 U2 --------------- For these cases it doesn't seem to help to dissassemble the cube (the alg goes faster than getting the center pieces back in IMHO). Maybe if you were to rotate the three colors of U,F and R then it would help to dissassemble the cube in order to rotate the corner at UFR to accomodate the new scheme. I have a feeling the either swapping R with L and also U with F, or rotating U, F, and R clockwise or counter clockwise may take more than 10 stickers to switch, though I haven't looked into it too much yet (it's getting late and about bed time for me) :) I'd like to keep looking into this. Are there other ways to switch the stickers and not have to switch too many? I wonder if anyone has any ideas about a worst case sticker switching scenario? My two cents, Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > I changed the color scheme of my 4x4 earlier today. All I had to do > was swap the blue and yellow faces to get the scheme I wanted. But I > didn't want to resticker 32 stickers. So... > > a) What's the minimum number of stickers you need to resticker to > swap two adjacent faces? > > b) Find a short algorithm that when you execute it from a solved > cube makes it obvious which stickers have to be restickered for your > a) solution. > > c) How about a) and b) if you want to swap two opposite faces? > > d) What's the worst case color rescheming (keeping the same colors, > though, otherwise the answer would obviously be 96 ;-))? > > e) For any of the restickering numbers, does it help to disassemble > the cube? > > The answers to a) and c)a) are fairly easy, but I haven't thought > about the other questions yet... > > Cheers! > Stefan

To switch colors on either adjacent or opposite sides you would need to switch only 8 stickers. Only the blue and yellow on the corner pieces. The centers and edges can all be left as is. I'll try to answer your alg questions when I have more time to spend on the answers. --- Stefan Pochmann <pochmann@...> wrote: > I changed the color scheme of my 4x4 earlier today. > All I had to do > was swap the blue and yellow faces to get the scheme > I wanted. But I > didn't want to resticker 32 stickers. So... > > a) What's the minimum number of stickers you need to > resticker to > swap two adjacent faces? > > b) Find a short algorithm that when you execute it > from a solved > cube makes it obvious which stickers have to be > restickered for your > a) solution. > > c) How about a) and b) if you want to swap two > opposite faces? > > d) What's the worst case color rescheming (keeping > the same colors, > though, otherwise the answer would obviously be 96 > ;-))? > > e) For any of the restickering numbers, does it help > to disassemble > the cube? > > The answers to a) and c)a) are fairly easy, but I > haven't thought > about the other questions yet... > > Cheers! > Stefan > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

Hi everyone, I just uploaded some videos of my speedsolving onto my site, since I seem to be the only speedcuber without a video these days! Also, if you are hankering after a bit of WC nostalgia, my entire semi-final solve of 26.31s is also there! Big thanks to Frank Morris for the video. The videos can be found on my page www.cubestation.co.uk by clicking the SPeedcubing Videos link on the red menu panel. Cheers! DanH :)

The 8 stickers that need to be switched 8 cornerrs on the 2 adjacent or opposite sides. Unlike the 3x3x3, you can create 20 pattern on a 4x4x4, thus the centers are taken care of, unlike on a 3x3x3.. To do this on opposite sides, do a 2o plua a ccheckerboard on just the two opposite faces. That swirches the two sides, except for the corners, which need to be switched manually. Someone else please explain, how to do this on adjacent faces, I have some difficulty with the centers. Hana a kostky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, E M <esadmofo@y...> wrote: > To switch colors on either adjacent or opposite sides > you would need to switch only 8 stickers. Only the > blue and yellow on the corner pieces. The centers and > edges can all be left as is. I'll try to answer your > alg questions when I have more time to spend on the > answers. > > > --- Stefan Pochmann <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > I changed the color scheme of my 4x4 earlier today. > > All I had to do > > was swap the blue and yellow faces to get the scheme > > I wanted. But I > > didn't want to resticker 32 stickers. So... > > > > a) What's the minimum number of stickers you need to > > resticker to > > swap two adjacent faces? > > > > b) Find a short algorithm that when you execute it > > from a solved > > cube makes it obvious which stickers have to be > > restickered for your > > a) solution. > > > > c) How about a) and b) if you want to swap two > > opposite faces? > > > > d) What's the worst case color rescheming (keeping > > the same colors, > > though, otherwise the answer would obviously be 96 > > ;-))? > > > > e) For any of the restickering numbers, does it help > > to disassemble > > the cube? > > > > The answers to a) and c)a) are fairly easy, but I > > haven't thought > > about the other questions yet... > > > > Cheers! > > Stefan > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! > http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

Unfortunately such scepticism is nothing new. Of course Chris' solves are real - he did it in front of 100s of people under competition conditions. This is irrefutable. 2,400 years ago, the ancient Athenian historian THUCYDIDES (5th century BC) summed up the nature AND REASON for human scepticism perfectly: In a speech praising fallen war dead he 'quotes' the Athenian head of state Pericles: "Praises of other men are endurable only to the point that the hearer thinks that he himself could perform some of the deeds being spoken. What goes beyond this immediately leads to envy and disbelief." Chris' awesome achievements are so far beyond the abilities of the sceptics that they are simply jealous and console themselves by masquerading this envy as scepticism. Their loss. Rob --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > I'm currently trying to get a username there, so I can post and > PROVE THEM WRONG. > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > > Though... people who think the cube video was played backwards > won't know > > anything about the steps used to solve the cube. > > > > -Tyson > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Chris Sz..." > <s2chris2@h...> > > wrote: > > > also read the guestbook at speedcubing.com People think Ron's > cube > > > video was played backwards. It was obviously not because you can > > > pick out the different steps, but I never thought about that. It > > > would be rather easy to fake a video by simply scrambling a > solved > > > cube and playing backwards > > > --barefoot Chris > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > > > > So silly, a few people think that Chris, though it was a world > > > championship, rigged his > > > > cube for the one-handed solve. > > > > > > > > http://ebaumsworld.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8116 > > > > > > > > I don't know if I believe that guy. If he could really solve > the > > > cube in 45 seconds, he > > > > would realize a few things. Just because a cube looks 60% > > > scrambled doesn't mean it > > > > actually is. Same colors on a face don't mean anything. In > fact, > > > a cube can look like > > > > it's scrambled and actually not. Furthermore, performing > > > algorithms messes other > > > > things up so having something "slightly solved" doesn't > actually > > > help unless you can > > > > make use of it right away or find some interpolation. > > > > > > > > And come on... 45 seconds isn't even average for Chris. > > > > > > > > -Tyson

Just for the sake of argument, not to put down another idea from somebody, but I really don't see how switching 8 stickers can switch the colors of two adjacent faces. Namely because there are two edge groups that need to exist on the cube that still do not by switching only the corners. Here is an example based on the coloring of my cube. I am using an Eastsheen 4x4x4 to help follow along if you have one. The color on the B face is green, the color on the F face is blue, the R face is yellow and the L face is white, these are the only necessary colors to make my point. The colors I want to switch are blue and yellow, same as Stefan wanted to switch originally. Now assume I switch just the 8 stickers on the F and R face of the corners, now my color scheme, by virtue of examining the corners, has white opposite blue. However I still retain the blue-white edge which was, and still is, in FL. There is no way that two opposite colors can stay on the same edge and still have a solvable cube. Also, by virtue of how the corners now are after switching stickers, I will now have green opposite yellow on my cube, but the green- yellow edge was and still is in BR. There is now way I can have these two edges on my newly resticerd cube and still be solvable, so I therefore must switch the stickers on them as well. Since switching stickers would seem to add 4 more to the number, making 12, I want to point out that switching the colors on the corners at UFR and DFR is much easier simply by switching the U sticker of UFR and D sticker of DFR since this position is still possible in the 4x4x4 group. The solution I proposed earlier, with 10 stickers needing to be switched, takes care of the pieces that would be impossible on the new color scheme, namely the 4 corners on the F face and the 2 on the BR edge of the cube (UBR and DBR), and the 2 problem edge groups in FL and BR. All the other edges, and the centers, can be switched by the rules of the 4x4x4 and put into their new places without having to move stickers. I don't mean to try to shoot down any ideas, but just for the sake of arguing the riddle posted I don't think it is possible to switch the colors of 2 adjacent faces by switching only 8 stickers? Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > The 8 stickers that need to be switched 8 cornerrs on the 2 adjacent > or opposite sides. Unlike the 3x3x3, you can create 20 pattern on a > 4x4x4, thus the centers are taken care of, unlike on a 3x3x3.. To do > this on opposite sides, do a 2o plua a ccheckerboard on just the two > opposite faces. That swirches the two sides, except for the corners, > which need to be switched manually. Someone else please explain, how > to do this on adjacent faces, I have some difficulty with the > centers. > Hana a kostky > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, E M <esadmofo@y...> > wrote: > > To switch colors on either adjacent or opposite sides > > you would need to switch only 8 stickers. Only the > > blue and yellow on the corner pieces. The centers and > > edges can all be left as is. I'll try to answer your > > alg questions when I have more time to spend on the > > answers. > > > > > > --- Stefan Pochmann <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > > I changed the color scheme of my 4x4 earlier today. > > > All I had to do > > > was swap the blue and yellow faces to get the scheme > > > I wanted. But I > > > didn't want to resticker 32 stickers. So... > > > > > > a) What's the minimum number of stickers you need to > > > resticker to > > > swap two adjacent faces? > > > > > > b) Find a short algorithm that when you execute it > > > from a solved > > > cube makes it obvious which stickers have to be > > > restickered for your > > > a) solution. > > > > > > c) How about a) and b) if you want to swap two > > > opposite faces? > > > > > > d) What's the worst case color rescheming (keeping > > > the same colors, > > > though, otherwise the answer would obviously be 96 > > > ;-))? > > > > > > e) For any of the restickering numbers, does it help > > > to disassemble > > > the cube? > > > > > > The answers to a) and c)a) are fairly easy, but I > > > haven't thought > > > about the other questions yet... > > > > > > Cheers! > > > Stefan > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! > > http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

On Friday my drama class had a play, and I changed and I put my pants in the bathroom, and when I came back, THE CUBE WAS NOT IN THE POCKET Someone stole it.... I don't know who, but when I find out, I'll make them pay.... Or I'll pay if I have to, to get it back. Has anyone else ever lost their BEST speed cube? Or had it STOLEN?!?!

So yeah, I've posted a LOT recently, and sorry if I am becoming an annoyance, but I have another question. 4x4x4 cubes seem to be the topic of conversation lately, so here's a question. I wasn't satisfied enough with my 3x3x3 supercube :) so I got out a magic marker and numbered all the centers of my 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 cubes, making supercubes such that the centers on each must always return to the exact same spot as the one they started in, in order to solve. I have to say that though they were more difficult than the 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 respectively, they are not too terribly so. Anyway my question relates to the 4x4x4 supercube. I have noticed that the parity on a 3x3x3 supercube is always conserved between corners, edges, and centers. However I have a question about the parity of a 4x4x4 supercube with respect to all the edge pieces. I have found an alg that switches exactly two edge pieces, and leaves the rest of the cube in the exact same position, switching only two pieces and maintaining even parity in the corners and centers so to speak. If the 4x4x4 supercube follows the same rules as the 3x3x3 supercube then this position in the edges should also be even parity. But if that is the case then at any scrambled position I could simply switch two of the edges using this alg and the edges would still have the same parity. The algorithm is this, r2 B2 U2 l U2 r' U2 r U2 F2 r F2 l' B2 r2 R L U2 R' L' U R L U2 R' L' U This flips the edge pair in UF and leaves the rest of the cube alone. Perhaps parity in the 4x4x4 edges is with respect to two pieces switched across edge groups? So if the piece in rUF (the right side piece of the edge group in UF, or the piece that lies on the intersection of the r slice, and the the U and F faces) had the F face sticker as a B color stcker and the piece in lBU had the B sticker an F color sticker, then maybe that would be odd parity, or would that even be an impossible position? Maybe the edges have no parity so to speak, or the parity is somehow neutral and can be described as either odd or even. So yeah, if it isn't blatantly obvious already I have no idea about parity or group theory, but I'm trying to figure some of this out via experience with supercubes. If anyone knows anything about this please post and help us ignorant people out! Again, just trying to get some conversation started on the group. Sorry for all the posts recently, Chris

Hey Mike, On one hand, that really sucks. Sorry for loosing your speed cube. I myself have never had a cube stolen though of course, I've only been cubing for a very short period of time. Though, I can't help feel sorry for the person who stole your cube. On Friday, he became one of the most worthless beings out there... he actually stole a Rubik's Cube. I mean come on... at least steal something that has a bit more monatery value. Maybe he'll try to sell it on eBay? You might want to check there every now and then. -Tyson --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > On Friday my drama class had a play, and I changed and I put my > pants in the bathroom, and when I came back, THE CUBE WAS NOT IN THE > POCKET > Someone stole it.... I don't know who, but when I find out, I'll > make them pay.... Or I'll pay if I have to, to get it back. > Has anyone else ever lost their BEST speed cube? Or had it STOLEN?!?!

Hey Chris! One middle slice move on the 4x4x4 cube has the following decomposition (which should be obvious) : one 4 cycle on edges (odd permutation) and 2 4 cycles on facecenters (2 odd permutations which make it all an even permutation). Hence the facecenters can be restored with some 3-cycles (a 3-cycle is even). An permutation is even if it consists of an even number of swaps (swap = 2-cycle). Hope this makes all that a bit clearer. Trying to restore the remaining 4-cycle on the edges with 3-cycles will always leave at least 2 edges unsolved. But if u go from 4x4x4 up to 6x6x6 u might achieve again a 2-cycle on edges, but it will leave u with a 2-cycle on the "edge-facecenters". I leave u to work that out :-) Regards, Per Kristen PS! With ur new improved supergroup algs on d 3x3x3 u should shave off at least 20 secs from ur average ;-) > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > So yeah, I've posted a LOT recently, and sorry if I am becoming an > annoyance, but I have another question. 4x4x4 cubes seem to be the > topic of conversation lately, so here's a question. I wasn't > satisfied enough with my 3x3x3 supercube :) so I got out a magic > marker and numbered all the centers of my 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 cubes, > making supercubes such that the centers on each must always return to > the exact same spot as the one they started in, in order to solve. I > have to say that though they were more difficult than the 4x4x4 and > 5x5x5 respectively, they are not too terribly so. Anyway my question > relates to the 4x4x4 supercube. I have noticed that the parity on a > 3x3x3 supercube is always conserved between corners, edges, and > centers. However I have a question about the parity of a 4x4x4 > supercube with respect to all the edge pieces. I have found an alg > that switches exactly two edge pieces, and leaves the rest of the > cube in the exact same position, switching only two pieces and > maintaining even parity in the corners and centers so to speak. If > the 4x4x4 supercube follows the same rules as the 3x3x3 supercube > then this position in the edges should also be even parity. But if > that is the case then at any scrambled position I could simply switch > two of the edges using this alg and the edges would still have the > same parity. > > The algorithm is this, > r2 B2 U2 l U2 r' U2 r U2 F2 r F2 l' B2 r2 R L U2 R' L' U R L U2 R' L' > U > > This flips the edge pair in UF and leaves the rest of the cube alone. > > Perhaps parity in the 4x4x4 edges is with respect to two pieces > switched across edge groups? So if the piece in rUF (the right side > piece of the edge group in UF, or the piece that lies on the > intersection of the r slice, and the the U and F faces) had the F > face sticker as a B color stcker and the piece in lBU had the B > sticker an F color sticker, then maybe that would be odd parity, or > would that even be an impossible position? > > Maybe the edges have no parity so to speak, or the parity is somehow > neutral and can be described as either odd or even. > > So yeah, if it isn't blatantly obvious already I have no idea about > parity or group theory, but I'm trying to figure some of this out via > experience with supercubes. If anyone knows anything about this > please post and help us ignorant people out! > > Again, just trying to get some conversation started on the group. > Sorry for all the posts recently, > > Chris

Chat doesn't seem to be running today, or is it me? c4r7

I also been trying couple of times to get into chat, but after a few minutes (real clock minutes :D ) of waiting and waiting .... zzzzzzz ... i have given it up :-( --Per K-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "c4r7" <c4r7@y...> wrote: > Chat doesn't seem to be running today, or is it me? > > c4r7

I have a shorter solution for problem c)b) See below !! --cubix-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > This was a lot of fun to try and work out! I only got answers to > part a) through part c), but I'm still thinking about the answers to > the others. For switching the colors of two adjacent faces the > minimum number of stickers I found that require switching is 10. > Switch the U sticker of UFR with the D sticker of DFR, switch the B > stickers of the edge group at BR with the L stickers of the edge of > FL (only the edges, not including the corners on that edge) and > switch the F stickers of UFL and DFL with the R stickers of UBR and > DBR. > > As far as a "short" alg to make this obvious my shortest one is 77 > moves in HTM. :) I broke it up into five parts to make it easier to > read. To perform the alg just do each part right after the other: > > Part 1: D2 L2 B2 R B' R' B F R' F B' R' B R F2 U B2 L2 D2 > Part 2: d2 B2 R2 u R2 d' R2 d R2 F2 d F2 u' B2 d2 > Part 3: B d u' B' F' R' F R F D' F2 R F R F' R' F D B d' u B' > Part 4: d R2 d2 U D' F2 U' D d > Part 5: B' R' B R' B' R2 B F R F' R F R2 F' > > which makes 79 moves, but combining the parts in the most economical > way I could, I reduced that to "only" 77 moves :) There has got to > be a more efficient way to do this, I just did it by performing it in > several steps. Here is the whole 77 move alg to show the position > when performed on a solved cube. Moves in parenthesis can be done at > the same time. > > D2 L2 B2 R B' R' B F R' F B' R' B R F2 U B2 L2 (D2 d2) B2 R2 u R2 d' > R2 d R2 F2 d F2 u' B2 d' R2 d2 U D' F2 U' (D d) B d u' B' F' R' F R F > D' F2 R F R F' R' F D B d' u B2 R' B R' B' R2 B F R F' R F R2 F' > > -------------------------- > If you want to switch just two opposite faces the minimum number of > stickers I could find needing to be removed and placed somewhere else > is 8. Switch all the B face stickers of BUL BUR BDR BDL and F face > stickers of FUL FUR FDR FDL. Here's an alg to make this obvious, > same as for the first example. Again moves in parenthesis can be > done at the same time. > d2 r2 d2 (r2 l2) d2 l2 u2 R2 (u2 d2) L2 D2 L2 R2 U2 A shorter solution here is : (F2f2)(u2d2)(F2f2)[U2(r2l2)]2 :D 4 cents for this :-P > --------------- > For these cases it doesn't seem to help to dissassemble the cube (the > alg goes faster than getting the center pieces back in IMHO). Maybe > if you were to rotate the three colors of U,F and R then it would > help to dissassemble the cube in order to rotate the corner at UFR to > accomodate the new scheme. I have a feeling the either swapping R > with L and also U with F, or rotating U, F, and R clockwise or > counter clockwise may take more than 10 stickers to switch, though I > haven't looked into it too much yet (it's getting late and about bed > time for me) :) > > I'd like to keep looking into this. Are there other ways to switch > the stickers and not have to switch too many? I wonder if anyone has > any ideas about a worst case sticker switching scenario? > > My two cents, > Chris > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" > <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > I changed the color scheme of my 4x4 earlier today. All I had to do > > was swap the blue and yellow faces to get the scheme I wanted. But > I > > didn't want to resticker 32 stickers. So... > > > > a) What's the minimum number of stickers you need to resticker to > > swap two adjacent faces? > > > > b) Find a short algorithm that when you execute it from a solved > > cube makes it obvious which stickers have to be restickered for > your > > a) solution. > > > > c) How about a) and b) if you want to swap two opposite faces? > > > > d) What's the worst case color rescheming (keeping the same colors, > > though, otherwise the answer would obviously be 96 ;-))? > > > > e) For any of the restickering numbers, does it help to disassemble > > the cube? > > > > The answers to a) and c)a) are fairly easy, but I haven't thought > > about the other questions yet... > > > > Cheers! > > Stefan

Does anyone know any good sites for people starting out in speed cubing? I have already solved the cube using the 3 layer method (found a solution online after I couldnt get last layer) and can do the cube in about 2:20. I found some sites but they are kinda confusing. Anyone have anything? Thanks

Hi Chris, thanks for your extensive thoughts/posts. 10 (adjacent) and 8 (opposite) is also what I got... I also have the same "obvious" cube look, at least judging from your algorithm, your explanation describes a slightly different way I think. > which makes 79 moves, but combining the parts in the most economical > way I could, I reduced that to "only" 77 moves :) There has got to > be a more efficient way to do this, I just did it by performing it in > several steps. Btw, is there a 4x4 solver program somewhere? How about the problem space diameter for it? Anything known? > For these cases it doesn't seem to help to dissassemble the cube (the > alg goes faster than getting the center pieces back in IMHO). I don't care much about time when preparing cubes, I meant would it help to reduce the number of stickers that have to be moved? Just like you I have a strong feeling that other reschemings can take advantage of disassembling. Btw, how many different (not variations of each other by cube rotation/mirroring/rescheming) reschemings are there? ;-) That is, swapping U and D is not different from swapping L and R. And cycling UFR is not different from cycling URF. Or from cycling BLD, for example. So basically I'm asking for the number of different tasks I could've asked for in my riddle. I believe there are only eight. Stefan

> But if u go from 4x4x4 up to 6x6x6 u might achieve again a 2-cycle on > edges, but it will leave u with a 2-cycle on the "edge- facecenters". Are you sure you mean 6x6, not 5x5? I don't see why the same explanation you used for the 4x4 shouldn't work for the 6x6 as well. Stefan

Hehe, sorry. Yes of coz i meant the 5x5x5 cube. Apologies!! Will proofread my postings better :D --Cubix-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > But if u go from 4x4x4 up to 6x6x6 u might achieve again a 2- cycle > on > > edges, but it will leave u with a 2-cycle on the "edge- > facecenters". > > Are you sure you mean 6x6, not 5x5? I don't see why the same > explanation you used for the 4x4 shouldn't work for the 6x6 as well. > > Stefan

Hey again! Nice to discuss something else besides optimizing 3x3x3 algs/methods :D I have come up with a fairly short alg for problem c)a), restickering adjacent faces of the cube. My algorithm for this is : ====== (Uu)F2(U2u2)R2F2(Uu)F2R2F2R2B2(Uu)B2(U'u')B2(Dd)B2(D'd') R2F'(Rr)U'R2U(R'r')F'R2(Uu) : {38-HTM) ====== It really consists of four parts that have been amalgamated very nicely! Lots of moves cancelled out for me :D It is worth noticing that this alg will generalize nicely to any (2n)x(2n)x(2n) cube. That also goes for my alg for restickering opposite faces of the 4x4x4, it will generalize to 6x6x6, 8x8x8 ... For the 4x4x4 that alg is: ====== (F2f2)(u2d2)(F2f2)[U2(r2l2)]2 ====== Happy cubing all!! --Per K-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Per Kristen Fredlund" <aspiring_to_love@y...> wrote: > I have a shorter solution for problem c)b) See below !! > > --cubix-- > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > This was a lot of fun to try and work out! I only got answers to > > part a) through part c), but I'm still thinking about the answers > to > > the others. For switching the colors of two adjacent faces the > > minimum number of stickers I found that require switching is 10. > > Switch the U sticker of UFR with the D sticker of DFR, switch the B > > stickers of the edge group at BR with the L stickers of the edge of > > FL (only the edges, not including the corners on that edge) and > > switch the F stickers of UFL and DFL with the R stickers of UBR and > > DBR. > > > > As far as a "short" alg to make this obvious my shortest one is 77 > > moves in HTM. :) I broke it up into five parts to make it easier > to > > read. To perform the alg just do each part right after the other: > > > > Part 1: D2 L2 B2 R B' R' B F R' F B' R' B R F2 U B2 L2 D2 > > Part 2: d2 B2 R2 u R2 d' R2 d R2 F2 d F2 u' B2 d2 > > Part 3: B d u' B' F' R' F R F D' F2 R F R F' R' F D B d' u B' > > Part 4: d R2 d2 U D' F2 U' D d > > Part 5: B' R' B R' B' R2 B F R F' R F R2 F' > > > > which makes 79 moves, but combining the parts in the most > economical > > way I could, I reduced that to "only" 77 moves :) There has got to > > be a more efficient way to do this, I just did it by performing it > in > > several steps. Here is the whole 77 move alg to show the position > > when performed on a solved cube. Moves in parenthesis can be done > at > > the same time. > > > > D2 L2 B2 R B' R' B F R' F B' R' B R F2 U B2 L2 (D2 d2) B2 R2 u R2 > d' > > R2 d R2 F2 d F2 u' B2 d' R2 d2 U D' F2 U' (D d) B d u' B' F' R' F R > F > > D' F2 R F R F' R' F D B d' u B2 R' B R' B' R2 B F R F' R F R2 F' > > > > -------------------------- > > If you want to switch just two opposite faces the minimum number of > > stickers I could find needing to be removed and placed somewhere > else > > is 8. Switch all the B face stickers of BUL BUR BDR BDL and F face > > stickers of FUL FUR FDR FDL. Here's an alg to make this obvious, > > same as for the first example. Again moves in parenthesis can be > > done at the same time. > > d2 r2 d2 (r2 l2) d2 l2 u2 R2 (u2 d2) L2 D2 L2 R2 U2 > > A shorter solution here is : > (F2f2)(u2d2)(F2f2)[U2(r2l2)]2 :D > > 4 cents for this :-P > > > --------------- > > For these cases it doesn't seem to help to dissassemble the cube > (the > > alg goes faster than getting the center pieces back in IMHO). > Maybe > > if you were to rotate the three colors of U,F and R then it would > > help to dissassemble the cube in order to rotate the corner at UFR > to > > accomodate the new scheme. I have a feeling the either swapping R > > with L and also U with F, or rotating U, F, and R clockwise or > > counter clockwise may take more than 10 stickers to switch, though > I > > haven't looked into it too much yet (it's getting late and about > bed > > time for me) :) > > > > I'd like to keep looking into this. Are there other ways to switch > > the stickers and not have to switch too many? I wonder if anyone > has > > any ideas about a worst case sticker switching scenario? > > > > My two cents, > > Chris > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" > > <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > > I changed the color scheme of my 4x4 earlier today. All I had to > do > > > was swap the blue and yellow faces to get the scheme I wanted. > But > > I > > > didn't want to resticker 32 stickers. So... > > > > > > a) What's the minimum number of stickers you need to resticker to > > > swap two adjacent faces? > > > > > > b) Find a short algorithm that when you execute it from a solved > > > cube makes it obvious which stickers have to be restickered for > > your > > > a) solution. > > > > > > c) How about a) and b) if you want to swap two opposite faces? > > > > > > d) What's the worst case color rescheming (keeping the same > colors, > > > though, otherwise the answer would obviously be 96 ;-))? > > > > > > e) For any of the restickering numbers, does it help to > disassemble > > > the cube? > > > > > > The answers to a) and c)a) are fairly easy, but I haven't thought > > > about the other questions yet... > > > > > > Cheers! > > > Stefan

which sites have you looked at pete

Hey! This will be my last posting for a while. Gonna give others a chance to post also ... hehe ... I've been diving into my archives from early 80's, and i found this extensive list of facecenter orienting algorithms for the 3x3x3 cube. At the time i thought i was the only interested in "supercubing". In this list is also the answer to Chris's request for easy algs for rotating 2 facecenters the same way one step (2 cases). Well anyway, here is the list (the effect on the centers is written inside the square brackets before the alg): ====== [FB] = FRBU2B'R'F'L'U2L2D2R2FR2D2L2BL (18-HTM) (answer to Chris!) [FB'] = RsU2sRsFR'sU2sR'sB' (14-HTM) [FR] = (F2R2F'R2F2R')3 (18-HTM) (answer to Chris!) [FR'] = F'sUsR'sFRsU'sFsR' (14-HTM) [FR'BL'] = FsUsRsFaLsDsBsL'a (16-HTM) [FR'B'L] = FsUsRsFsLsDsBsLs (16-HTM) [FRBL] = R2FR2F2RF2U2sB2LB2L2BL2U2s (16-HTM) [FRB2] = RsFLsDsBsRFsDsLsB2RsU2s (21-HTM) [FR2B] = FaR2UaR2U'aF'aL2U2BU2R2sD2FD2 (19-HTM) [FR'B2L2] = FsUsRsFB2LsDsBsR'L2 (16-HTM) [F2R2] = F2L2B2UsR2B2L2Ds (10-HTM) [F2B2] = L2B2R2U2sL2F2R2U2s (10-HTM) [F2R2B2L2] = F2R2sF2UsR2F2sR2Ds (12-HTM) [F2R2U2] = F2L2B2UsR2B2RsU2R'aURaU2R'aD (19-HTM) [F2R2B2] = R2F2L2U2F2U'aF'UaF2U'aF'B2L2F2U's (19-HTM) [[U2F2R2B2L2] = RaF2sR'aFaR2sDF'aD2FaDF'aU2 (20-HTM) [U2D2F2R2B2L2] = RaF2sR'aFaR2sF'aU2s (14-HTM) [U2D2FRBL] = BsRsFsRsFsL'aF2R2DsB2R2F2Ds (21-HTM) [U2D2FRB'L'] = RsFsLsU2sBsRsFs (14-HTM) [U2D2FR'BL'] = RsFsR'aF2R2UsF2L2B2UsBsRsFs (21-HTM) [U2F2R2L2] = F2R2D2RsF2D2B2R'sD2F2L2B2U2s (16-HTM) [U2] = (RaU2R'aU)2 (12-HTM) ====== If anyone spots any mistake and/or has any improvements please let me know! Many of the algs above are simply a combo of 2 other algs properly amalgamated ;-) Happy Supercubing :-) --Cubix--

As far as I know, there's no one in my school (besides me) who would steal a Rubiks Cube. S/he probably just did it to make me mad. Or something. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > Hey Mike, > > On one hand, that really sucks. Sorry for loosing your speed cube. I myself have > never had a cube stolen though of course, I've only been cubing for a very short > period of time. Though, I can't help feel sorry for the person who stole your cube. On > Friday, he became one of the most worthless beings out there... he actually stole a > Rubik's Cube. I mean come on... at least steal something that has a bit more > monatery value. Maybe he'll try to sell it on eBay? You might want to check there > every now and then. > > -Tyson > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > On Friday my drama class had a play, and I changed and I put my > > pants in the bathroom, and when I came back, THE CUBE WAS NOT IN THE > > POCKET > > Someone stole it.... I don't know who, but when I find out, I'll > > make them pay.... Or I'll pay if I have to, to get it back. > > Has anyone else ever lost their BEST speed cube? Or had it STOLEN?!?!

Hi everyone, Thanks to everyone who was a part of the tournament. I had a lot of fun and I hope everyone else did too. Our current plan is to hold a tournament once a term. If you think you may be interested in our future tournaments, I've set up a yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caltechrubiks/ where we can discuss improvements on the tournaments as well as scheduling of future tournaments and other plans as well. The results of the Winter 2004 tournament are posted in the files section. I'll hopefully have pictures up soon too. -Tyson

Had to dig up this old thread because in the same vein: http://poststuff2.entensity.net/012304/media.php?media=fast.wmv Cheers, Daniel

Hi all, .::ATT: This has nothing to do with Cube::. In this school project I'm doing, I have to find someone in a math- related profession and write a letter along with a questionnaire to find out what kind of math it uses, benefits, pros and cons, etc. Since I don't have much connection with people off-line, I thought maybe I could ask for help online. I would appreciate it if someone could be my personal contact. I will be sending you an e-mail with the questionnaire (it shouldn't be too bad). Please reply to this message (or e-mail me directly) ASAP. (I only need one contact.) These are some suggested professions (taken right from the hand-out): accountant, actuary, airplane pilot, architect, auto-body repair person, bank teller, bank officer, chef, computer programmer, computer technician, construction worker, counselor, dentist, dental assistant, economist, electrical engineet, electrician, emergency medical technician, FBI agent, flight attendant, insurance agent, journalist, landscape architect, lawyer, marketing researcher, lab technician, religious order, musician, nurse (LPN), nurse (RN), optician, optometrist, pharmacist, physical therapist, physician, physicist, plumber, police officer, politician, professor, psychologist, real estate agent, salesperson, secretary, social worker, statistician, teacher (K-12), travel agent, underwriter, veterinarian Thanks in advance, Macky p.s. some of these professions, I really don't get how math has anything to do with it... oh well...

http://www.vrc.freehomepage.com Jeff

Thanks Tyson for making the Tournament so much fun. Since Canada I have taken a little cube break. It was fun to try and remember all of my algorithms. My favorite part was when I was finishing up one of my solves. I knew (or thought I knew) what alg to use so I looked at the timer to see what time I was getting. Then I put the cube down and pushed the timer. I looked up and the cube was not solved!! LOL. It was also great to see Macky solve the cube in 12.8s!!! Thanks again Tyson, -Kenneth

Hi Macky, I have a maths PhD and I am also an accountant and an engineer! Would be happy to help if you want. Duncan (in England if that matters) ----- Original Message ----- From: mackymakisumi To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2004 11:41 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] School Project Hi all, .::ATT: This has nothing to do with Cube::. In this school project I'm doing, I have to find someone in a math- related profession and write a letter along with a questionnaire to find out what kind of math it uses, benefits, pros and cons, etc. Since I don't have much connection with people off-line, I thought maybe I could ask for help online. I would appreciate it if someone could be my personal contact. I will be sending you an e-mail with the questionnaire (it shouldn't be too bad). Please reply to this message (or e-mail me directly) ASAP. (I only need one contact.) These are some suggested professions (taken right from the hand-out): accountant, actuary, airplane pilot, architect, auto-body repair person, bank teller, bank officer, chef, computer programmer, computer technician, construction worker, counselor, dentist, dental assistant, economist, electrical engineet, electrician, emergency medical technician, FBI agent, flight attendant, insurance agent, journalist, landscape architect, lawyer, marketing researcher, lab technician, religious order, musician, nurse (LPN), nurse (RN), optician, optometrist, pharmacist, physical therapist, physician, physicist, plumber, police officer, politician, professor, psychologist, real estate agent, salesperson, secretary, social worker, statistician, teacher (K-12), travel agent, underwriter, veterinarian Thanks in advance, Macky p.s. some of these professions, I really don't get how math has anything to do with it... oh well... Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "mackymakisumi" <mackymakisumi@y...> wrote: > Hi all, > > .::ATT: This has nothing to do with Cube::. > > In this school project I'm doing, I have to find someone in a math- > related profession and write a letter along with a questionnaire to > find out what kind of math it uses, benefits, pros and cons, etc. > Since I don't have much connection with people off-line, I thought > maybe I could ask for help online. > I would appreciate it if someone could be my personal contact. I > will be sending you an e-mail with the questionnaire (it shouldn't be > too bad). Please reply to this message (or e-mail me directly) ASAP. > (I only need one contact.) > > These are some suggested professions (taken right from the hand- out): > accountant, actuary, airplane pilot, architect, auto-body repair > person, bank teller, bank officer, chef, computer programmer, > computer technician, construction worker, counselor, dentist, dental > assistant, economist, electrical engineet, electrician, emergency > medical technician, FBI agent, flight attendant, insurance agent, > journalist, landscape architect, lawyer, marketing researcher, lab > technician, religious order, musician, nurse (LPN), nurse (RN), > optician, optometrist, pharmacist, physical therapist, physician, > physicist, plumber, police officer, politician, professor, > psychologist, real estate agent, salesperson, secretary, social > worker, statistician, teacher (K-12), travel agent, underwriter, > veterinarian > > Thanks in advance, > > Macky > > p.s. some of these professions, I really don't get how math has > anything to do with it... oh well... Whilst I don't exactly fit your criterion (not being in any profession), I could put you in contact with a lot of people who do use mathematics a lot in their work (e.g. professional mathematicians (university mathematics faculty) or people in the world of finance)). As for the last part, maybe I can hazard a guess as to where mathematics might be used in some of them (though many of them will not go very deeply into mathematics, i.e. even beyond arithmetic): accountant - this should be fairly straightforward; probably arithmetic, percentages etc. actuary - statistics (they work in insurance, calculating probabilities of events, such as disasters etc.) airplane pilot - I'd imagine it has to do with bearings to an extent (though with auto-pilots, this is probably less of an issue these days) and possibly with manual control (on landing), though I'd imagine that very little is worked out mathematicallyin the usual sense here (perhpas mentally in the same way as a tennis player or a footballer or whatever will mentally work out the angle and power for the ball; it is very much on a subconscious level, if that is the case) architect - I'd imagine measurements, geometry, applied mathematics (forces, stress, gravity etc. must be accounted for), perhaps linear programming could be used to get feasible solutions to the stress problem auto-body repair person - I'm guessing that this is (the US term for) someone who repairs cars. Presumably again, things like stress and forces will come into it at some stage. bank teller - arithmetic, presumably bank officer - again arithmetic, maybe (depending on what officer is) some linear programming in order to figure out investments, statistics, some calculus e.g. partial differential equations (I'm thinking on the lines of investments here, where stuff with names like the Black-Scholes equation crop up) chef - principally arithmetic, I'd have thought, for ingredients computer programmer - algorithms, numerical analysis, geometry (for graphics), mechanics (e.g. simulating graphics in games). Depending on the nature of the programming there could be a whole load of other stuff - linear programming, matrix calculations come to mind for instance. computer technician - I'd imagine things like mechanics would come into it, if technician is design rather than repair, the physical volume will be important, so will cooling (heat equation perhaps?), efficient design of chips and so on. construction worker - all kinds of stuff connected to measurements and forces again counselor - not sure, at a guess some kind of statistics might be used dentist - to work out the appropriate amount of anaesthetic some arithmetic might be necessary, perhaps also counting teeth! dental assistant - to actually prepare the anaesthetic as per instruction, perhaps? (In the UK, all I've seen a dental assistant do is write down what the dentist tells them. I'm sure they do a lot more, but the part I've seen requires no mathematics.) economist - arithmetic, statistics, calculus e.g. partial differential equations electrical engineer - complex analysis, calculus electrician - perhaps some simple equations (I'm thinking on the lines of working out calculations with parallel/series circuits), but I'm not sure what else emergency medical technician - again, a good grasp of arithmetic. I imagine in an emergency, more complicated mathematics (if necessary) may have to be done by a machine for speed. FBI agent - not sure here; I can't recall Dale Cooper using mathematics. Perhaps a certain level is expected just to be able to join the FBI (to ensure a level of proficiency, should the need arise). At the scene of a crime, the time of death might be possible to work out by cooling or deterioration, but I'd imagine they'd have a forensic scientist or doctor on hand for that, rather than get the agent to do it. flight attendant - presumably arithmetic, making sure the correct number of passengers are on board, that there are sufficient meals, drinks etc. insurance agent - again, perhaps some statistics, although if the agent is the person who just sells the insurance, that may be less of a factor. At any rate, I imagine arithmetic at some level. journalist - persumably some arithmetic to work out percentages - e.g. the percentage of people out of work, the percentage of the popular support of candidate X etc., possibly something more advanced, depending on the type of journal (e.g. the Wall Street journal, or the Journal of Integral Equations will perhaps need a little extra) landscape architect - similar to architect, I'd have thought, but perhaps different/less (or maybe no) emphasis on forces. Mainly geometry, would be my guess. lawyer - statistics (and the manipulation thereof) marketing researcher - see lawyer lab technician - arithmetic (for measurements in preparing solutions and so forth), perhaps something more too (forces, on the safety side). I could perhaps check on this as I have a brother who is a scientist and has a lab technician. religious order - probably depends on what the order is. Services need to be worked out for timing, the length of hymns plus the readings, plus the sermon should be roughly constant (equal to the service length), enough food/drink for sacrament are examples. Of course, there are some people who believe in numerology - e.g. Bible codes etc. - of course, the fact is that with a long enough text you are statistically likely to find similar "codes", e.g. you could probably do the same thing with "The Lord Of The Rings", the Oxford English Dictionary, Journey To The West and so forth. People who do not realize this are more likely to be taken in by the notion of such a "code". musician - I am told that there is a link between mathematics and music, but not listening to music, I don't know what it is. Perhaps something to do with rhythm. Also, the wave equation gives some kind of support to the spacing of notes, as I recall (though I don't imagine many musicians use the wave equation). Bach is apparently quite mathematical, so that could be a start. nurse (LPN) - I don't know the difference between (LPN) and (RN) (local practice and registered would be my guess). I expect it is mainly to do with arithmetic (doses of medicine etc.) nurse (RN) - see nurse (LPN) optician - I can't imagine that they use the inverse square law, but perhaps they do. The lens has to be shaped properly to bring the focal point to the correct place, but whether this is done by the optician or a technician (on instruction from the optician), I'm not sure. optometrist - not sure what the difference is between this and optician pharmacist - since it is preparation of medicine, I'd again guess that measurements/arithmetic are most important here. (I didn't mention it above, but units are quite important in measuring.) physical therapist - Can't recall there being any mathematics involved when I was getting physical therapy when I broke my elbow. I'd imagine it has to do with strain and stress and perhaps working out the level, amount and vigour of exercises in recovery (although, "go to the level of pain and not beyond" isn't really mathematical) physician - assuming this to take doctor and surgeon into account, I'd think arithmetic would be up there. Possibly also some calculus (in working out rate of cooling, rate of deterioration and other things). physicist - it's a very broad category; just about any field of applied mathematics, probably, and also calculus, complex analysis and geometry. I'm probably leaving out some stuff. plumber - I'd think that geometry and stress forces and measurements are what are required here. Probably not so much fluid mechanics and hydrodynamics (unless they are working on a huge structure, like a dam, but then they'd probably have a more fancy title) police officer - presumably not much more than arithmetic politician - statistics (to an extent) - see lawyer, counting (to see if they have won the vote) professor - depends on the type of professor! Statistics is probably common to quite a few, arithmetic is surely known to all (these are probably also both used, especially if the professor has to teach (and doesn't have a TA)). For a mathematics professor, rather more would be needed - it would be difficult to go into at any length. psychologist - statistics, I'd imagine. real estate agent - they need to be able to work with areas and count bathrooms, so some arithmetic and perhaps geometry (though the areas may be given to them) salesperson - arithmetic, perhaps statistics (especially if sales are not on the shop floor but to firms or house to house) secretary - probably depends on what they are a secretary for (arithmetic I imagine, but not necessarily any more) social worker - presumably arithmetic and some statistics statistician - statistics, calculus teacher (K-12) - not certain what K-12 is, but I believe it is primary, in which case arithmetic, perhaps statistics, perhaps calculus, perhaps geometry and so forth (I'm not too familiar with US pre-university education) travel agent - again, arithmetic (n people at $x with a y% discount and a z credit card surcharge +$w insurance etc.) underwriter - this is again in the insurance/lawyer category so probably some smatterings from the mathematics used in those professions veterinarian - I'd think that the mathematics required would be similar to that for a physician

--- Per Kristen Fredlund wrote: > I have come up with a fairly short alg for problem c)a), > restickering adjacent faces of the cube. My algorithm for this is : > > ====== > (Uu)F2(U2u2)R2F2(Uu)F2R2F2R2B2(Uu)B2(U'u')B2(Dd)B2(D'd') > R2F'(Rr)U'R2U(R'r')F'R2(Uu) : {38-HTM) > ====== Took me 3 tries to perform your alg right, but then it worked. Very cool! I'm curious to know how you came up with it and what the four parts are? I came up with my own that's nice and easy on the brian, and fairly short, too... It has two steps: 1) Swap centers and U/D edges: (Dd)R2(D'd')R2 F2 R2 F2 R2 F2(Dd)R2(D'd') 2) Flip entire FR edge (with corners) (Dd)F2(D'd')F2(Dd)R2(D'd')R2(Dd)L2(Dd)L2(D'd')L2 R2 F2 This translates to a single, 35 move (HTM) solution, because the (D'd') at the end of #1 and the (Dd) at the beginning of #2 cancel out. Btw, for those who may want to know, #2 is an alg that handles both parity problems encountered on the 4x4x4 simultaneously by swapping two corners (UFR and DFR) and flipping one edge pair (FR). - Grant

You could also memorize a solution with the different steps and do it backwards really fast, so the steps don't prove all that much. I'd look for places with finger tricks or other moves you can see the fingers *pushing* the pieces. Playing those backwards should look very unnatural and prove that the video is played in the right direction. I don't know how you'd prove that the video isn't speeded up though. /Lars At 11:47 PM +0000 1/23/04, Chris Sz... wrote: >also read the guestbook at speedcubing.com People think Ron's cube >video was played backwards. It was obviously not because you can >pick out the different steps, but I never thought about that. It >would be rather easy to fake a video by simply scrambling a solved >cube and playing backwards >--barefoot Chris -- "They say the grass is greener on the other side, but have you ever flipped it over?" Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@... http://lar5.com

As you all know by now, my cube is gone.... :( :( :( Anyway, I am now concentrating on improving a new cube. The springs are not very springy yet, though. The face needs to be almost exactly square in order to turn the next side. Is there any way to adjust the tension of the nonexistent screws in the Rubiks.com cubes? I tried scratching a slit into the thing to turn it, but to no avail. Thanks

Hey everyone, I'm getting ready to reserve the room again for our next tournament in the spring. Are there any weeks or days in the spring (around april) that would be better than others for anyone out there? -Tyson

Hello I have a question and a cool link. How would I find the total possible orientations reachable from the solved state? IE: if you just haphazzardly put a cube together, it won't necessarily qualify. and a cool link. free immortality rings: http://www.alexchiu.com/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=myusername it shows you how to make immortality rings. i don't know if it works yet, tho. that's all. Chris

Perhaps the person was so intrigued with the puzzle they wandered off with it in a state of confusion? *shrugs* Or maybe a janitor stole it? Or maybe...someone is jealous of your cubing skills and stole it to spite you. Or maybe...lol...someone decided it needed to be lubed so they brought it home, with the intentions of returning it. Sorry I haven't been much help. -Richard --- tmao@... wrote: > Hey Mike, > > On one hand, that really sucks. Sorry for loosing > your speed cube. I myself have > never had a cube stolen though of course, I've only > been cubing for a very short > period of time. Though, I can't help feel sorry for > the person who stole your cube. On > Friday, he became one of the most worthless beings > out there... he actually stole a > Rubik's Cube. I mean come on... at least steal > something that has a bit more > monatery value. Maybe he'll try to sell it on eBay? > You might want to check there > every now and then. > > -Tyson > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > "Michael Atkinson" > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > On Friday my drama class had a play, and I changed > and I put my > > pants in the bathroom, and when I came back, THE > CUBE WAS NOT IN THE > > POCKET > > Someone stole it.... I don't know who, but when I > find out, I'll > > make them pay.... Or I'll pay if I have to, to get > it back. > > Has anyone else ever lost their BEST speed cube? > Or had it STOLEN?!?! > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

Well, even if they did walk off with it, why were they rooting through a pair of pants in the first place? :) And it was pretty well lubed, definitely not in need of it. I have a feeling that someone did steal it just to make me mad. Because I have many enemies at that school. I mean, I don't dislike them, but they dislike me. Yeah. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > Perhaps the person was so intrigued with the puzzle > they wandered off with it in a state of confusion? > *shrugs* Or maybe a janitor stole it? Or > maybe...someone is jealous of your cubing skills and > stole it to spite you. Or maybe...lol...someone > decided it needed to be lubed so they brought it home, > with the intentions of returning it. Sorry I haven't > been much help. > -Richard > > --- tmao@i... wrote: > > Hey Mike, > > > > On one hand, that really sucks. Sorry for loosing > > your speed cube. I myself have > > never had a cube stolen though of course, I've only > > been cubing for a very short > > period of time. Though, I can't help feel sorry for > > the person who stole your cube. On > > Friday, he became one of the most worthless beings > > out there... he actually stole a > > Rubik's Cube. I mean come on... at least steal > > something that has a bit more > > monatery value. Maybe he'll try to sell it on eBay? > > You might want to check there > > every now and then. > > > > -Tyson > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > > "Michael Atkinson" > > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > > On Friday my drama class had a play, and I changed > > and I put my > > > pants in the bathroom, and when I came back, THE > > CUBE WAS NOT IN THE > > > POCKET > > > Someone stole it.... I don't know who, but when I > > find out, I'll > > > make them pay.... Or I'll pay if I have to, to get > > it back. > > > Has anyone else ever lost their BEST speed cube? > > Or had it STOLEN?!?! > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! > http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

Well I know a bit how it is, somewhere out there, there is a postman that has 10 Rubik's Studio cubes. I have mailed them and they never arrived. So lessons learned I always send them insured now. As for the speedcube, I never leave my speedcube out of site in public. Ton --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > Perhaps the person was so intrigued with the puzzle > they wandered off with it in a state of confusion? > *shrugs* Or maybe a janitor stole it? Or > maybe...someone is jealous of your cubing skills and > stole it to spite you. Or maybe...lol...someone > decided it needed to be lubed so they brought it home, > with the intentions of returning it. Sorry I haven't > been much help. > -Richard > > --- tmao@i... wrote: > > Hey Mike, > > > > On one hand, that really sucks. Sorry for loosing > > your speed cube. I myself have > > never had a cube stolen though of course, I've only > > been cubing for a very short > > period of time. Though, I can't help feel sorry for > > the person who stole your cube. On > > Friday, he became one of the most worthless beings > > out there... he actually stole a > > Rubik's Cube. I mean come on... at least steal > > something that has a bit more > > monatery value. Maybe he'll try to sell it on eBay? > > You might want to check there > > every now and then. > > > > -Tyson > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > > "Michael Atkinson" > > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > > On Friday my drama class had a play, and I changed > > and I put my > > > pants in the bathroom, and when I came back, THE > > CUBE WAS NOT IN THE > > > POCKET > > > Someone stole it.... I don't know who, but when I > > find out, I'll > > > make them pay.... Or I'll pay if I have to, to get > > it back. > > > Has anyone else ever lost their BEST speed cube? > > Or had it STOLEN?!?! > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! > http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

If you just put a standard cube together randomly you would have 1 chance in 12 of getting it right. If you have a super cube, meaning the orination of the centers matters, then you would have 1 chance in 24. --- Chris Taylor <duct_tape06@...> wrote: > Hello > I have a question and a cool link. How would I find > the total > possible orientations reachable from the solved > state? IE: if you > just haphazzardly put a cube together, it won't > necessarily qualify. > and a cool link. free immortality rings: > http://www.alexchiu.com/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=myusername > it > shows you how to make immortality rings. i don't > know if it works > yet, tho. that's all. > Chris > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

the video couldn't be sped up so as to look incredibly unnatural...physiology will provide the proper analysis to prove that, apart from that objective video analysis and reproduction of skill in a controlled environment are always handy for proving someone's skill...however I know of no real video technology available to the public for free that makes it easy to reverse video... Anywho, the idea that some of us would go to such lengths to prove that we are good in the sport of cubing...its highly unlikely...just what kind of psychological motivation does one need to fake skill in a sport that receives about as much public notariety as podiatry? Please tell those on the forums to rethink their accusations...its simply not logical... =K= --- Lars Petrus <lars@...> wrote: > You could also memorize a solution with the > different steps and do it > backwards really fast, so the steps don't prove all > that much. > > I'd look for places with finger tricks or other > moves you can see the > fingers *pushing* the pieces. Playing those > backwards should look > very unnatural and prove that the video is played in > the right > direction. > > I don't know how you'd prove that the video isn't > speeded up though. > > /Lars > > At 11:47 PM +0000 1/23/04, Chris Sz... wrote: > >also read the guestbook at speedcubing.com People > think Ron's cube > >video was played backwards. It was obviously not > because you can > >pick out the different steps, but I never thought > about that. It > >would be rather easy to fake a video by simply > scrambling a solved > >cube and playing backwards > >--barefoot Chris > > -- > "They say the grass is greener on the other side, > but have you ever > flipped it over?" > > Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@... > http://lar5.com > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

the video couldn't be sped up so as to look incredibly unnatural...physiology will provide the proper analysis to prove that, apart from that objective video analysis and reproduction of skill in a controlled environment are always handy for proving someone's skill...however I know of no real video technology available to the public for free that makes it easy to reverse video... Anywho, the idea that some of us would go to such lengths to prove that we are good in the sport of cubing...its highly unlikely...just what kind of psychological motivation does one need to fake skill in a sport that receives about as much public notariety as podiatry? Please tell those on the forums to rethink their accusations...its simply not logical... =K= --- Lars Petrus <lars@...> wrote: > You could also memorize a solution with the > different steps and do it > backwards really fast, so the steps don't prove all > that much. > > I'd look for places with finger tricks or other > moves you can see the > fingers *pushing* the pieces. Playing those > backwards should look > very unnatural and prove that the video is played in > the right > direction. > > I don't know how you'd prove that the video isn't > speeded up though. > > /Lars > > At 11:47 PM +0000 1/23/04, Chris Sz... wrote: > >also read the guestbook at speedcubing.com People > think Ron's cube > >video was played backwards. It was obviously not > because you can > >pick out the different steps, but I never thought > about that. It > >would be rather easy to fake a video by simply > scrambling a solved > >cube and playing backwards > >--barefoot Chris > > -- > "They say the grass is greener on the other side, > but have you ever > flipped it over?" > > Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@... > http://lar5.com > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

Hi, > As for the last part, maybe I can hazard a guess as to where > mathematics might be used in some of them (though many of them will > not go very deeply into mathematics, i.e. even beyond arithmetic): > > accountant - this should be fairly straightforward; probably > arithmetic, percentages etc. > actuary - statistics (they work in insurance, calculating > probabilities of events, such as disasters etc.) > airplane pilot - I'd imagine it has to do with bearings to an extent > (though with auto-pilots, this is probably less of an issue these > days) and possibly with manual control (on landing), though I'd > imagine that very little is worked out mathematicallyin the usual > sense here (perhpas mentally in the same way as a tennis player or a > footballer or whatever will mentally work out the angle and power > for the ball; it is very much on a subconscious level, if that is > the case) > architect - I'd imagine measurements, geometry, applied mathematics > (forces, stress, gravity etc. must be accounted for), perhaps linear > programming could be used to get feasible solutions to the stress > problem > auto-body repair person - I'm guessing that this is (the US term > for) someone who repairs cars. Presumably again, things like stress > and forces will come into it at some stage. > bank teller - arithmetic, presumably > bank officer - again arithmetic, maybe (depending on what officer > is) some linear programming in order to figure out investments, > statistics, some calculus e.g. partial differential equations (I'm > thinking on the lines of investments here, where stuff with names > like the Black-Scholes equation crop up) > chef - principally arithmetic, I'd have thought, for ingredients > computer programmer - algorithms, numerical analysis, geometry (for > graphics), mechanics (e.g. simulating graphics in games). Depending > on the nature of the programming there could be a whole load of > other stuff - linear programming, matrix calculations come to mind > for instance. > computer technician - I'd imagine things like mechanics would come > into it, if technician is design rather than repair, the physical > volume will be important, so will cooling (heat equation perhaps?), > efficient design of chips and so on. > construction worker - all kinds of stuff connected to measurements > and forces again > counselor - not sure, at a guess some kind of statistics might be > used > dentist - to work out the appropriate amount of anaesthetic some > arithmetic might be necessary, perhaps also counting teeth! > dental assistant - to actually prepare the anaesthetic as per > instruction, perhaps? (In the UK, all I've seen a dental assistant > do is write down what the dentist tells them. I'm sure they do a lot > more, but the part I've seen requires no mathematics.) > economist - arithmetic, statistics, calculus e.g. partial > differential equations > electrical engineer - complex analysis, calculus > electrician - perhaps some simple equations (I'm thinking on the > lines of working out calculations with parallel/series circuits), > but I'm not sure what else > emergency medical technician - again, a good grasp of arithmetic. I > imagine in an emergency, more complicated mathematics (if necessary) > may have to be done by a machine for speed. > FBI agent - not sure here; I can't recall Dale Cooper using > mathematics. Perhaps a certain level is expected just to be able to > join the FBI (to ensure a level of proficiency, should the need > arise). At the scene of a crime, the time of death might be possible > to work out by cooling or deterioration, but I'd imagine they'd have > a forensic scientist or doctor on hand for that, rather than get the > agent to do it. > flight attendant - presumably arithmetic, making sure the correct > number of passengers are on board, that there are sufficient meals, > drinks etc. > insurance agent - again, perhaps some statistics, although if the > agent is the person who just sells the insurance, that may be less > of a factor. At any rate, I imagine arithmetic at some level. > journalist - persumably some arithmetic to work out percentages - > e.g. the percentage of people out of work, the percentage of the > popular support of candidate X etc., possibly something more > advanced, depending on the type of journal (e.g. the Wall Street > journal, or the Journal of Integral Equations will perhaps need a > little extra) > landscape architect - similar to architect, I'd have thought, but > perhaps different/less (or maybe no) emphasis on forces. Mainly > geometry, would be my guess. > lawyer - statistics (and the manipulation thereof) > marketing researcher - see lawyer > lab technician - arithmetic (for measurements in preparing solutions > and so forth), perhaps something more too (forces, on the safety > side). I could perhaps check on this as I have a brother who is a > scientist and has a lab technician. > religious order - probably depends on what the order is. Services > need to be worked out for timing, the length of hymns plus the > readings, plus the sermon should be roughly constant (equal to the > service length), enough food/drink for sacrament are examples. Of > course, there are some people who believe in numerology - e.g. Bible > codes etc. - of course, the fact is that with a long enough text you > are statistically likely to find similar "codes", e.g. you could > probably do the same thing with "The Lord Of The Rings", the Oxford > English Dictionary, Journey To The West and so forth. People who do > not realize this are more likely to be taken in by the notion of > such a "code". > musician - I am told that there is a link between mathematics and > music, but not listening to music, I don't know what it is. Perhaps > something to do with rhythm. Also, the wave equation gives some kind > of support to the spacing of notes, as I recall (though I don't > imagine many musicians use the wave equation). Bach is apparently > quite mathematical, so that could be a start. > nurse (LPN) - I don't know the difference between (LPN) and (RN) > (local practice and registered would be my guess). I expect it is > mainly to do with arithmetic (doses of medicine etc.) > nurse (RN) - see nurse (LPN) > optician - I can't imagine that they use the inverse square law, but > perhaps they do. The lens has to be shaped properly to bring the > focal point to the correct place, but whether this is done by the > optician or a technician (on instruction from the optician), I'm not > sure. > optometrist - not sure what the difference is between this and > optician > pharmacist - since it is preparation of medicine, I'd again guess > that measurements/arithmetic are most important here. (I didn't > mention it above, but units are quite important in measuring.) > physical therapist - Can't recall there being any mathematics > involved when I was getting physical therapy when I broke my elbow. > I'd imagine it has to do with strain and stress and perhaps working > out the level, amount and vigour of exercises in recovery > (although, "go to the level of pain and not beyond" isn't really > mathematical) > physician - assuming this to take doctor and surgeon into account, > I'd think arithmetic would be up there. Possibly also some calculus > (in working out rate of cooling, rate of deterioration and other > things). > physicist - it's a very broad category; just about any field of > applied mathematics, probably, and also calculus, complex analysis > and geometry. I'm probably leaving out some stuff. > plumber - I'd think that geometry and stress forces and measurements > are what are required here. Probably not so much fluid mechanics and > hydrodynamics (unless they are working on a huge structure, like a > dam, but then they'd probably have a more fancy title) > police officer - presumably not much more than arithmetic > politician - statistics (to an extent) - see lawyer, counting (to > see if they have won the vote) > professor - depends on the type of professor! Statistics is probably > common to quite a few, arithmetic is surely known to all (these are > probably also both used, especially if the professor has to teach > (and doesn't have a TA)). For a mathematics professor, rather more > would be needed - it would be difficult to go into at any length. > psychologist - statistics, I'd imagine. > real estate agent - they need to be able to work with areas and > count bathrooms, so some arithmetic and perhaps geometry (though the > areas may be given to them) > salesperson - arithmetic, perhaps statistics (especially if sales > are not on the shop floor but to firms or house to house) > secretary - probably depends on what they are a secretary for > (arithmetic I imagine, but not necessarily any more) > social worker - presumably arithmetic and some statistics > statistician - statistics, calculus > teacher (K-12) - not certain what K-12 is, but I believe it is > primary, in which case arithmetic, perhaps statistics, perhaps > calculus, perhaps geometry and so forth (I'm not too familiar with > US pre-university education) > travel agent - again, arithmetic (n people at $x with a y% discount > and a z credit card surcharge +$w insurance etc.) > underwriter - this is again in the insurance/lawyer category so > probably some smatterings from the mathematics used in those > professions > veterinarian - I'd think that the mathematics required would be > similar to that for a physician Wow, that's a lot! Thanks, that'll definitely be something I can use for my report. :D As for my contact, thanks, Duncan, for your help. I will e-mail you the questionnaire by Friday. Thanks again, Macky p.s. >Dr. C I really haven't had the time to finish the whole 5x5...I don't think I can untill all the tests are done and I'm out of homework heaven. LOL. Thank you for your advice on memorization. I certainly hope to be able to do this asap.

Hey everyone again, I know this is really far away, but I was thinking... there isn't going to be an official tournament for the Rubik's Cube in the United States this year and it'd be really nice to have one. Who do I need to talk to in order to make a tournament official. Do I need some sort of sponsorship/licensing from Hessport or something? And what makes a tournament official such that a record will be accepted as "a record"? Basically, I envision an official united states championship held in the summer. With all of your support, I think this would be very much a possibility. -Tyson

Hi Tyson To be "official" you'd need a third party judge and to follow the guidelines that were set in Toronto which can be viewed at rubikschamps.com. The Guinness Book of Records can be contacted via their web-site and will send you downloadable forms to fill out for any new record(s) they only publish 3x3 and blindfold records at the moment. If you wanted "sponsorship"you would need to contact the USA distribution companies "Hasbro" and "Winning Moves" : The details are at rubiks.com. There are plans for a 2005 "official" 25th Anniversary championship in Orlando, Florida and there will be a European Championship in August in Amsterdam. Dates for both will be confirmed in February. Good luck! David -----Original Message----- From: tmao@... [mailto:tmao@...] Sent: 27 January 2004 11:03 To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Speed cubing group] summer official tournament? Hey everyone again, I know this is really far away, but I was thinking... there isn't going to be an official tournament for the Rubik's Cube in the United States this year and it'd be really nice to have one. Who do I need to talk to in order to make a tournament official. Do I need some sort of sponsorship/licensing from Hessport or something? And what makes a tournament official such that a record will be accepted as "a record"? Basically, I envision an official united states championship held in the summer. With all of your support, I think this would be very much a possibility. -Tyson _____ Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/> * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <mailto:speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscri be> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

that's a great little game...i think it might be fun to have a few more patterns, then print them up on some cards...game to go. one little thing: i noticed a few times that highlighted cubes wouldn't "cover up" again...made it kind of easy if they stayed exposed...obviously not intended but again, liked the game --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "c_w_tsai" <c_w_tsai@y...> wrote: > Play Cube Memory! It's like the game Memory where you have to match > up the cards. Here you match up the cube patterns. > > http://www.geocities.com/c_w_tsai/memory/ > > Have fun! > > c

hate to state the obvious, but maybe they really think it's a continuum trans-functioner... --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > On Friday my drama class had a play, and I changed and I put my > pants in the bathroom, and when I came back, THE CUBE WAS NOT IN THE > POCKET > Someone stole it.... I don't know who, but when I find out, I'll > make them pay.... Or I'll pay if I have to, to get it back. > Has anyone else ever lost their BEST speed cube? Or had it STOLEN?!?!

I´m quite sure that someone just hid the cube in a not too obvious place in that room. Go and look again! R ----- Original Message ----- From: "mrtrickypants" <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2004 2:33 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Cube got stolen > > hate to state the obvious, but maybe they really think it's a > continuum trans-functioner... > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > On Friday my drama class had a play, and I changed and I put my > > pants in the bathroom, and when I came back, THE CUBE WAS NOT IN > THE > > POCKET > > Someone stole it.... I don't know who, but when I find out, I'll > > make them pay.... Or I'll pay if I have to, to get it back. > > Has anyone else ever lost their BEST speed cube? Or had it > STOLEN?!?! > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

That's what I thought at first, but then I decided to think outside the box for once. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, mrtrickypants <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > hate to state the obvious, but maybe they really think it's a > continuum trans-functioner... > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > On Friday my drama class had a play, and I changed and I put my > > pants in the bathroom, and when I came back, THE CUBE WAS NOT IN > THE > > POCKET > > Someone stole it.... I don't know who, but when I find out, I'll > > make them pay.... Or I'll pay if I have to, to get it back. > > Has anyone else ever lost their BEST speed cube? Or had it > STOLEN?!?!

I want a good cube. Where can I get one? Are the cubes of www.rubiks.com good enough? I have two very bad cubes (and very cheap cube) and my record with these cubes is 37 sc. I think I can get a better mark with a good cube. Thanks

The Rubiks.com ones take a while to break in, but once you do they are excellent for speedcubing. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "rubikaz" <rubikaz@y...> wrote: > I want a good cube. Where can I get one? Are the cubes of > www.rubiks.com good enough? > I have two very bad cubes (and very cheap cube) and my record with > these cubes is 37 sc. I think I can get a better mark with a good > cube. > > Thanks

Greetings Everyone, As many of you know a speed solving Rubik's Cube tournament was held on Saturday 1/24/2004 at Caltech. They used the same stackmat timers which were used in the WC2003 in Toronto. Macky won with the middle 3 of 5 average of 16.53 seconds. His slowest solve of the final 5 scrambles was 18.05 which is two full seconds faster than the average of the present "official" World's record. Macky's time in the "Champion's Solve" right after the winner was declared was 12.28 sconds. If you want to compare your time to his 12.28, here's that scramble: F2 R2 D L R B' F D' B R2 D2 L D L R' F' B2 D U R2 D' R B2 L' D2 Good Luck! And of Course Congratulations to Macky! Regards, David J

www.speedcubing.com, Ton's Studio cubes. I thought I lost mine for 3 days and almost cried. OK, not really, but if you want the best, that's what you want. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "rubikaz" <rubikaz@y...> wrote: > I want a good cube. Where can I get one? Are the cubes of > www.rubiks.com good enough? > I have two very bad cubes (and very cheap cube) and my record with > these cubes is 37 sc. I think I can get a better mark with a good > cube. > > Thanks

Hey Grant! I already tried to post this. Sorry if it should appear twice :-( I left my algbuilding scribblings at home, but instead i came up with an ever better solution : ===== (Dd)R2(D'd')R2F2R2F2(Dd)B2(D'd')B2(Uu)B2(U'u')B2R2(U'u')F2 : (25-htm) ===== I found this by working ur solution backwards, and spotted at one point all that was needed was a simple swap of 2 (2x3) blocks, which is easily done normally ;-) Regards, --Cubix-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Grant Tregay" <Grant@T...> wrote: > --- Per Kristen Fredlund wrote: > > I have come up with a fairly short alg for problem c)a), > > restickering adjacent faces of the cube. My algorithm for this is : > > > > ====== > > (Uu)F2(U2u2)R2F2(Uu)F2R2F2R2B2(Uu)B2(U'u')B2(Dd)B2(D'd') > > R2F'(Rr)U'R2U(R'r')F'R2(Uu) : {38-HTM) > > ====== > > Took me 3 tries to perform your alg right, but then it worked. Very > cool! I'm curious to know how you came up with it and what the four > parts are? I came up with my own that's nice and easy on the brian, > and fairly short, too... It has two steps: > > 1) Swap centers and U/D edges: > (Dd)R2(D'd')R2 F2 R2 F2 R2 F2(Dd)R2(D'd') > 2) Flip entire FR edge (with corners) > (Dd)F2(D'd')F2(Dd)R2(D'd')R2(Dd)L2(Dd)L2(D'd')L2 R2 F2 > > This translates to a single, 35 move (HTM) solution, because the > (D'd') at the end of #1 and the (Dd) at the beginning of #2 cancel > out. Btw, for those who may want to know, #2 is an alg that handles > both parity problems encountered on the 4x4x4 simultaneously by > swapping two corners (UFR and DFR) and flipping one edge pair (FR). > > - Grant

The only not-too-obvious place in the bathroom, I'm afraid to look. ;) --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Rune Wesström <rune.wesstrom@h...> wrote: > I´m quite sure that someone just hid the cube in a not too obvious place in that room. > Go and look again! > > R > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "mrtrickypants" <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> > To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2004 2:33 PM > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Cube got stolen > > > > > > hate to state the obvious, but maybe they really think it's a > > continuum trans-functioner... > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" > > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > > On Friday my drama class had a play, and I changed and I put my > > > pants in the bathroom, and when I came back, THE CUBE WAS NOT IN > > THE > > > POCKET > > > Someone stole it.... I don't know who, but when I find out, I'll > > > make them pay.... Or I'll pay if I have to, to get it back. > > > Has anyone else ever lost their BEST speed cube? Or had it > > STOLEN?!?! > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > >

Hey Grant! I have left my alg-building scribblings at home, but i came up with a much improved solution ... Here it is : ===== (Dd)R2(D'd')R2F2R2F2(Dd)B2(D'd')B2(Uu)B2(U'u')B2R2(U'u')F2 : {25-HTM} ===== This one i found by working ur alg backwards towards solved. At one point in ur alg i spotted i simply had to interchange 2 (2x3) blocks, which is fairly easy :D I believe this one should be hard to beat ;-) --cubix-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Grant Tregay" <Grant@T...> wrote: > --- Per Kristen Fredlund wrote: > > I have come up with a fairly short alg for problem c)a), > > restickering adjacent faces of the cube. My algorithm for this is : > > > > ====== > > (Uu)F2(U2u2)R2F2(Uu)F2R2F2R2B2(Uu)B2(U'u')B2(Dd)B2(D'd') > > R2F'(Rr)U'R2U(R'r')F'R2(Uu) : {38-HTM) > > ====== > > Took me 3 tries to perform your alg right, but then it worked. Very > cool! I'm curious to know how you came up with it and what the four > parts are? I came up with my own that's nice and easy on the brian, > and fairly short, too... It has two steps: > > 1) Swap centers and U/D edges: > (Dd)R2(D'd')R2 F2 R2 F2 R2 F2(Dd)R2(D'd') > 2) Flip entire FR edge (with corners) > (Dd)F2(D'd')F2(Dd)R2(D'd')R2(Dd)L2(Dd)L2(D'd')L2 R2 F2 > > This translates to a single, 35 move (HTM) solution, because the > (D'd') at the end of #1 and the (Dd) at the beginning of #2 cancel > out. Btw, for those who may want to know, #2 is an alg that handles > both parity problems encountered on the 4x4x4 simultaneously by > swapping two corners (UFR and DFR) and flipping one edge pair (FR). > > - Grant

i have tricks cards where the back of them reveals the card ;P(but very secretly!) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On Tue, Jan 13, 2004 at 01:35:13AM -0000, cubed68 wrote: > i was just wondering how many cubers from this page are > Australian,apart from myself and Jasmin > > pete I'm also Australian (from Sydney) Ryan

Well, the 12.28 wasn't really legitimate. I had scrambled his cube and then he said he wanted to use your cube so I scrambled your cube the same way and in the process, Macky solved his own cube so he had already seen it... and I think he mentioned he got lucky because on of the pairs was already in place. The 14.76 was really really impressive though. Macky opened the competition with a 15.07 which really did set a good tone for his performance... not to mention the tone of the crowd cheering! Hey, I'm having pairty problems with my 4x4x4. I'll check this group for prior discussions on this but does anyone have the algorithms off hand? -Tyson --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > Greetings Everyone, > > As many of you know a speed solving Rubik's Cube tournament was held > on Saturday 1/24/2004 at Caltech. They used the same stackmat timers > which were used in the WC2003 in Toronto. > > Macky won with the middle 3 of 5 average of 16.53 seconds. > > His slowest solve of the final 5 scrambles was 18.05 which is two full > seconds faster than the average of the present "official" World's record. > > Macky's time in the "Champion's Solve" right after the winner was > declared was 12.28 sconds. > > If you want to compare your time to his 12.28, here's that scramble: > > F2 R2 D L R B' F D' B R2 D2 L D L R' F' B2 D U R2 D' R B2 L' D2 > > Good Luck! > > And of Course Congratulations to Macky! > > Regards, > > David J

Please? Somebody? I can barely average under 25 seconds with my current cube! --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > As you all know by now, my cube is gone.... :( :( :( > Anyway, I am now concentrating on improving a new cube. The springs > are not very springy yet, though. The face needs to be almost > exactly square in order to turn the next side. Is there any way to > adjust the tension of the nonexistent screws in the Rubiks.com > cubes? I tried scratching a slit into the thing to turn it, but to > no avail. > > Thanks

On Mon, Jan 26, 2004 at 12:04:13PM -0000, GameOfDeath2 wrote: > musician - I am told that there is a link between mathematics and > music, but not listening to music, I don't know what it is. Perhaps > something to do with rhythm. Also, the wave equation gives some kind > of support to the spacing of notes, as I recall (though I don't > imagine many musicians use the wave equation). Bach is apparently > quite mathematical, so that could be a start. I'm sure you've heard "Doh ray me, it's easy as 1 2 3". Bach is famous for melodies like this: 878456767345656234545123... which is very mathematical but sounds beautiful. These numbers are second nature to musicians. Rhythm is based on different measures of notes: a full note, a half note, a quarter note. or even a 3rd. Example: You want to play 1-2-3 | 1-2-3 | ... repeating bars with your left hand And play 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4 | ... repeating bars with your right hand. The bar length is common to both hands. If a musician wants to learn to play this accurately, he/she must use mathematics. With the left hand, each beat is 1/3, and in the right hand each beat is 1/4. The lowest common demoninator is 12. So you need to think of the left hand as 4/12 and the right hand as 3/12. The combined rhythm with L=left hit and R=right hit is: L...L...L... | L...L...L... | etc. R..R..R..R.. | R..R..R..R.. | etc. Ryan

I was reading on Jessica's site, and I came across this on her wc2003 page: After the first World Championship in Rubik's Cube in 1982, rumors started that the next one will take place the following year, most likely in Los Angeles. If someone told me then that I would have to wait 21 years for the next one, I would dismiss this nonsense immediately. I doubt this will happen a second time, but since there's been no updates lately on the location, the date/time, or anything, I'm beginning to wonder. SO anyway, has the place (at least the country) and the date been decided yet?

I was at a bookstore, 0_o, and I looked in the '2004' Guiness Book of world records, hoping to see some Rubik's cube records :p, __however__, they had a 1980' blindfold record in there, and that _was_all... I was quite disappointed, and i'm wondering, fellaz, _what_the_heck is goin on... Brent :) --Brent --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

There are thousands of World Records. The book would be several thousand pages long if they were to list all of them. In the past books, you can find Minh Thai's record. I expect Jess will be in there next year. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Brent Morgan <brentmorganmaster@y...> wrote: > I was at a bookstore, 0_o, and I looked in the '2004' Guiness Book of world records, hoping to see some Rubik's cube records :p, __however__, they had a 1980' blindfold record in there, and that _was_all... I was quite disappointed, and i'm wondering, fellaz, _what_the_heck is goin on... > Brent > > > :) > --Brent > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Brent The new records (Jess, Dan, Dror etc) are submitted to Guinness, they prepare their "World Records" in the Summer for Christmas publication therefore the new Toronto records couldn't make the 2004 edition. Dave -----Original Message----- From: Brent Morgan [mailto:brentmorganmaster@...] Sent: 28 January 2004 02:06 To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Speed cubing group] Guiness _book_ -2004 I was at a bookstore, 0_o, and I looked in the '2004' Guiness Book of world records, hoping to see some Rubik's cube records :p, __however__, they had a 1980' blindfold record in there, and that _was_all... I was quite disappointed, and i'm wondering, fellaz, _what_the_heck is goin on... Brent :) --Brent --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] _____ Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/> * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <mailto:speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscri be> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Well, I think that I can, since I am Josef Jelinek. First look at the new version of the Applet and the new page: http://software.rubikscube.info/AnimCube/ There are many examples of use there. And quite a lot of work was done recently. I would like to here any feedback from anyone! Josef --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > Can anyone help me with the rubiks applet by Jelinek > Josef? I'm confused as to how to work with it.

After all, is it too much to ask for his full name? R ----- Original Message ----- From: "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@...> To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2004 9:31 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Caltech Competition > Greetings Everyone, > > As many of you know a speed solving Rubik's Cube tournament was held > on Saturday 1/24/2004 at Caltech. They used the same stackmat timers > which were used in the WC2003 in Toronto. > > Macky won with the middle 3 of 5 average of 16.53 seconds. > > His slowest solve of the final 5 scrambles was 18.05 which is two full > seconds faster than the average of the present "official" World's record. > > Macky's time in the "Champion's Solve" right after the winner was > declared was 12.28 sconds. > > If you want to compare your time to his 12.28, here's that scramble: > > F2 R2 D L R B' F D' B R2 D2 L D L R' F' B2 D U R2 D' R B2 L' D2 > > Good Luck! > > And of Course Congratulations to Macky! > > Regards, > > David J > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

WC 2003 happened only because there was someone who could and was willing to dedicate a major part of his time to the organization. Unless we find another person like this and unless this person succeeds to get the sponsors interested, there will be no championship. Here is my guess - the 3rd championship will take place in 2024 when another generation of cubers and sponsors comes. I wish I was wrong. Jessica > I was reading on Jessica's site, and I came across this on her > wc2003 page: > > After the first World Championship in Rubik's Cube in 1982, rumors > started that the next one will take place the following year, most > likely in Los Angeles. If someone told me then that I would have to > wait 21 years for the next one, I would dismiss this nonsense > immediately. > > I doubt this will happen a second time, but since there's been no > updates lately on the location, the date/time, or anything, I'm > beginning to wonder. > > SO anyway, has the place (at least the country) and the date been > decided yet?

Wow, congratulation, Macky!! Those are fantastic times and performed in front of an audience and not on a sofa! Lars, did you take part in the competition? BTW, I still have garlic aftertaste from that garlic ice cream at The Stinking Rose! :) Jessica > Greetings Everyone, > > As many of you know a speed solving Rubik's Cube tournament was held > on Saturday 1/24/2004 at Caltech. They used the same stackmat timers > which were used in the WC2003 in Toronto. > > Macky won with the middle 3 of 5 average of 16.53 seconds. > > His slowest solve of the final 5 scrambles was 18.05 which is two full > seconds faster than the average of the present "official" World's record. > > Macky's time in the "Champion's Solve" right after the winner was > declared was 12.28 sconds. > > If you want to compare your time to his 12.28, here's that scramble: > > F2 R2 D L R B' F D' B R2 D2 L D L R' F' B2 D U R2 D' R B2 L' D2 > > Good Luck! > > And of Course Congratulations to Macky! > > Regards, > > David J

Hi Jessica There will definitely be a 2005 Championship. I saw the Disney Pop Century Resort last week and it's a great venue, they will give us a good deal (rooms plus free rides etc) so I'm working on it and hope to confirm next month after I've met with the US distributors (who would support the event financially). So.. it's looking good and you shouldn't have to wait until 2024! Best wishes Dave David Hedley Jones Business Development Director Seven Towns Ltd -----Original Message----- From: Jessica Fridrich [mailto:Jess340@...] Sent: 28 January 2004 16:16 To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: wc2005? WC 2003 happened only because there was someone who could and was willing to dedicate a major part of his time to the organization. Unless we find another person like this and unless this person succeeds to get the sponsors interested, there will be no championship. Here is my guess - the 3rd championship will take place in 2024 when another generation of cubers and sponsors comes. I wish I was wrong. Jessica > I was reading on Jessica's site, and I came across this on her > wc2003 page: > > After the first World Championship in Rubik's Cube in 1982, rumors > started that the next one will take place the following year, most > likely in Los Angeles. If someone told me then that I would have to > wait 21 years for the next one, I would dismiss this nonsense > immediately. > > I doubt this will happen a second time, but since there's been no > updates lately on the location, the date/time, or anything, I'm > beginning to wonder. > > SO anyway, has the place (at least the country) and the date been > decided yet? Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT <http://rd.yahoo.com/SIG=12ceor9ih/M=267637.4116730.5333196.1261774/D=egroup web/S=1705297356:HM/EXP=1075393052/A=1945638/R=0/*http://www.netflix.com/Def ault?mqso=60178383&partid=4116730> click here <http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=267637.4116730.5333196.1261774/D=egroupmai l/S=:HM/A=1945638/rand=982094937> _____ Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/> * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <mailto:speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscri be> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dave, thank you for your note. I was unaware of this. So, I assume the championship will take place in Florida? Who will be the event organizer? Seven Towns? Jessica P.S.: My apology if this has been discussed here before. Recently, I have not been checking this site too frequently. > Hi Jessica > > There will definitely be a 2005 Championship. I saw the Disney Pop Century > Resort last week and it's a great venue, they will give us a good deal > (rooms plus free rides etc) so I'm working on it and hope to confirm next > month after I've met with the US distributors (who would support the event > financially). > > So.. it's looking good and you shouldn't have to wait until 2024! > > Best wishes > Dave > David Hedley Jones > Business Development Director > Seven Towns Ltd > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Jessica Fridrich [mailto:Jess340@h...] > Sent: 28 January 2004 16:16 > To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: wc2005? > > > WC 2003 happened only because there was someone who could and was > willing to dedicate a major part of his time to the organization. > Unless we find another person like this and unless this person > succeeds to get the sponsors interested, there will be no > championship. Here is my guess - the 3rd championship will take place > in 2024 when another generation of cubers and sponsors comes. > > I wish I was wrong. > > Jessica > > > I was reading on Jessica's site, and I came across this on her > > wc2003 page: > > > > After the first World Championship in Rubik's Cube in 1982, rumors > > started that the next one will take place the following year, most > > likely in Los Angeles. If someone told me then that I would have to > > wait 21 years for the next one, I would dismiss this nonsense > > immediately. > > > > I doubt this will happen a second time, but since there's been no > > updates lately on the location, the date/time, or anything, I'm > > beginning to wonder. > > > > SO anyway, has the place (at least the country) and the date been > > decided yet? > > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > ADVERTISEMENT > > <http://rd.yahoo.com/SIG=12ceor9ih/M=267637.4116730.5333196.1261774/D= egroup > web/S=1705297356:HM/EXP=1075393052/A=1945638/R=0/*http://www.netflix.c om/Def > ault?mqso=60178383&partid=4116730> click here > > <http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l? M=267637.4116730.5333196.1261774/D=egroupmai > l/S=:HM/A=1945638/rand=982094937> > > > _____ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > * To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/> > > > * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > <mailto:speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com? subject=Unsubscri > be> > > > * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service > <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I was there and got second place with..., well the numbers aren't important :) It was only the fourth cube competition I'd ever been at, and annoyingly enough I still got far too nervous and made a lot of mistakes. As did most people there, except for the young and outstanding winner. Is there any reason Macky's times should not be considered 'offical' world records, BTW? Timing was done with the stack timers and followed all procedures from the WC, and the competition was open to the public and announced weeks in advance. What else would you need?? I know in some sports (shooting, f ex) world records are only set at world championships, since that is where the pressure is biggest. I hope there are more simple local competitions popping up. The other three competitions I have been to have been two world championships and one national. I can't think of any other sport where the competitions are so top heavy. /Lars PS. The full results are here: http://speedcubing.com/events/caltech_jan2004.html At 4:21 PM +0000 1/28/04, Jessica Fridrich wrote: >Wow, congratulation, Macky!! Those are fantastic times and performed >in front of an audience and not on a sofa! > >Lars, did you take part in the competition? BTW, I still have garlic >aftertaste from that garlic ice cream at The Stinking Rose! :) > >Jessica -- "They say the grass is greener on the other side, but have you ever flipped it over?" Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@... http://lar5.com

At least that's what I think it's called. Need some advice on some drills or techniques to avoid getting corners or sides stuck while twisting. It's REALLY slowing me down especially in the F2L. I keep having to stop, back up, squeeze everything together, and then try again. Triggers and macros won't help me until I can figure out how to improve this. Also leads to pops, but I guess that's common. I'm using a new Hessport which I like for the most part. Thanks, Howard

--- Tyson wrote: > Hey, I'm having pairty problems with my 4x4x4. I'll check this > group for prior discussions on this but does anyone have the > algorithms off hand? I just gave one in the discussion on the 4x4x4 restickering problem that addresses both parity problems simultaneously by swapping UFR and DFR and flipping FR: 1)(Dd)F2(D'd')F2(Dd)R2(D'd')R2(Dd)L2(Dd)L2(D'd')L2 R2 F2 This is probably more easily performed with a different cube orientation and/or using the opposite slice, on occassion... Try one of these: 2)(Rr)U2(R'r')U2(Ll)U2(R'r')U2(Rr)D2(Rr)D2(R'r')y'U2D2R2 (Flips UB) 3)(R'r')U2(Rr)U2(L'l')U2(Rr)U2(R'r')D2(R'r')D2(Rr)yU2D2R2 (Flips UF) 4)(Uu)R2(U'u')R2(Dd)R2(U'u')R2(Uu)L2(Uu)L2(U'u')yxU2D2R2 (Flips FR) Anyways... Then there are also the two standarad algs to fix just one of the two parity problems at a time: 5)r2 B2 U2 l U2 r' U2 r U2 F2 r F2 l' B2 r2 (Flips UF) 6)r2 U2 r2 (U2u2) r2 u2 You can do #5 with either r and l slices only (flips only UF) or with r/l slices and R/L faces (flips UF, swaps UL/UR, swaps UFR/UFL and reorients UFR/UFL). Note that #1 and it's variations (#2-#4) address both parity problems and as such is not appropriate for odd order cubes (e.g. 5x5x5). - Grant

Thanks for the link. I am stunned how good Macky was. He must have kept completely cool. I, too, see no reason why this should not be considered a world record. The organizers should contact Guiness. Macky deserves a mention there. BTW, this confirms my belief that young competitors around 14 have an advantage in competitions because they can keep a lot more cool than oldies who already depleted their nerves on other things :) Jessica P.S.: Anybody knows what system he is using? I want to learn it asap ... :) > I was there and got second place with..., well the numbers aren't important :) > > It was only the fourth cube competition I'd ever been at, and > annoyingly enough I still got far too nervous and made a lot of > mistakes. As did most people there, except for the young and > outstanding winner. > > Is there any reason Macky's times should not be considered 'offical' > world records, BTW? Timing was done with the stack timers and > followed all procedures from the WC, and the competition was open to > the public and announced weeks in advance. What else would you need?? > > I know in some sports (shooting, f ex) world records are only set at > world championships, since that is where the pressure is biggest. > > I hope there are more simple local competitions popping up. The other > three competitions I have been to have been two world championships > and one national. I can't think of any other sport where the > competitions are so top heavy. > > /Lars > > PS. The full results are here: > http://speedcubing.com/events/caltech_jan2004.html > > At 4:21 PM +0000 1/28/04, Jessica Fridrich wrote: > >Wow, congratulation, Macky!! Those are fantastic times and performed > >in front of an audience and not on a sofa! > > > >Lars, did you take part in the competition? BTW, I still have garlic > >aftertaste from that garlic ice cream at The Stinking Rose! :) > > > >Jessica > > -- > "They say the grass is greener on the other side, but have you ever > flipped it over?" > > Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@l... http://lar5.com

http://cubefreak.hp.infoseek.co.jp/speedcubing.html Looks like he uses something called the 'Fridrich' Method. Ever heard of that Jessica? lol... ;) Howard --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Jessica Fridrich" <Jess340@h...> wrote: > Thanks for the link. I am stunned how good Macky was. He must have > kept completely cool. I, too, see no reason why this should not be > considered a world record. The organizers should contact Guiness. > Macky deserves a mention there. > > BTW, this confirms my belief that young competitors around 14 have an > advantage in competitions because they can keep a lot more cool than > oldies who already depleted their nerves on other things :) > > Jessica > > P.S.: Anybody knows what system he is using? I want to learn it > asap ... :) > > > I was there and got second place with..., well the numbers aren't > important :) > > > > It was only the fourth cube competition I'd ever been at, and > > annoyingly enough I still got far too nervous and made a lot of > > mistakes. As did most people there, except for the young and > > outstanding winner. > > > > Is there any reason Macky's times should not be > considered 'offical' > > world records, BTW? Timing was done with the stack timers and > > followed all procedures from the WC, and the competition was open > to > > the public and announced weeks in advance. What else would you > need?? > > > > I know in some sports (shooting, f ex) world records are only set > at > > world championships, since that is where the pressure is biggest. > > > > I hope there are more simple local competitions popping up. The > other > > three competitions I have been to have been two world championships > > and one national. I can't think of any other sport where the > > competitions are so top heavy. > > > > /Lars > > > > PS. The full results are here: > > http://speedcubing.com/events/caltech_jan2004.html > > > > At 4:21 PM +0000 1/28/04, Jessica Fridrich wrote: > > >Wow, congratulation, Macky!! Those are fantastic times and > performed > > >in front of an audience and not on a sofa! > > > > > >Lars, did you take part in the competition? BTW, I still have > garlic > > >aftertaste from that garlic ice cream at The Stinking Rose! :) > > > > > >Jessica > > > > -- > > "They say the grass is greener on the other side, but have you ever > > flipped it over?" > > > > Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@l... http://lar5.com

Hi all, Sorry for such a basic question.. I bought a cube from Walmart for about $9 which was in one of those hard-to-open plastic packages. Is this an Oddzon cube? I've read some disrecommendations for speedcubing, but is it possible to make one into a "close-enough" speedcube for a beginner? I've lubed it with silicon lubricant and it's better. I'm not really having good luck stretching the springs, but I'm probably just not trying hard enough. My times are around 1:06 on average, so "close-enough" should probably do me for a while, right? :) Jimmy

That's the same kind of cube I started with 2 years ago. It took it about a month to become broken in (it actually hurt my hands when I first got it). Then I siliconed it and used it until quite recently, when I got one of Ton's cubes. I was getting around 30s (~26s avg now) with that kind of cube. Should work just fine! :) Daniel --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jjthrash" <jimmy@j...> wrote: > Hi all, > > Sorry for such a basic question.. I bought a cube from Walmart for > about $9 which was in one of those hard-to-open plastic packages. Is > this an Oddzon cube? > > I've read some disrecommendations for speedcubing, but is it possible > to make one into a "close-enough" speedcube for a beginner? I've > lubed it with silicon lubricant and it's better. I'm not really > having good luck stretching the springs, but I'm probably just not > trying hard enough. > > My times are around 1:06 on average, so "close-enough" should > probably do me for a while, right? :) > > Jimmy

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "pi3p14159265" <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > That's the same kind of cube I started with 2 years ago. It took it > about a month to become broken in (it actually hurt my hands when I > first got it). Then I siliconed it and used it until quite recently, > when I got one of Ton's cubes. I was getting around 30s (~26s avg > now) with that kind of cube. Should work just fine! :) Excellent. Sometimes it's easier to do something when you know it's possible. :) Jimmy

Hi Tyson, Perhaps you are right. Did he solve it the same way the second time? Did you try solving that scramble more than once? Give a try and record your time. Anyone can try this. I'm not talking about doing it several times slowly first to find the easiest solve and to practice, I mean just scramble, 15 second look, and solve. Do it with the scrambles used in the competition, go down the line and do each one twice. What percentage of the time were you actually slower the second time? David --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > Well, the 12.28 wasn't really legitimate. I had scrambled his cube and then he said he > wanted to use your cube so I scrambled your cube the same way and in the process, > Macky solved his own cube so he had already seen it... and I think he mentioned he > got lucky because on of the pairs was already in place. The 14.76 was really really > impressive though. Macky opened the competition with a 15.07 which really did set a > good tone for his performance... not to mention the tone of the crowd cheering! > > Hey, I'm having pairty problems with my 4x4x4. I'll check this group for prior > discussions on this but does anyone have the algorithms off hand? > > -Tyson > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@y...> > wrote: > > Greetings Everyone, > > > > As many of you know a speed solving Rubik's Cube tournament was held > > on Saturday 1/24/2004 at Caltech. They used the same stackmat timers > > which were used in the WC2003 in Toronto. > > > > Macky won with the middle 3 of 5 average of 16.53 seconds. > > > > His slowest solve of the final 5 scrambles was 18.05 which is two full > > seconds faster than the average of the present "official" World's record. > > > > Macky's time in the "Champion's Solve" right after the winner was > > declared was 12.28 sconds. > > > > If you want to compare your time to his 12.28, here's that scramble: > > > > F2 R2 D L R B' F D' B R2 D2 L D L R' F' B2 D U R2 D' R B2 L' D2 > > > > Good Luck! > > > > And of Course Congratulations to Macky! > > > > Regards, > > > > David J

Well, the cubes I get from Wal Mart vary drastically in quality...I got one that needed a severe silicone job and one that nearly scrambled itself as I attempted to pull it from the package, I have yet to do anything to that one and even after the silicone job on the other I cant tell the difference between the two! Perhaps I am a lucky case but I find that the quality differs too much In them for them to immediately be very good cubes...however, I do average around 1:10 so my advice mightn't be worth a lick! -K --- pi3p14159265 <swedishlf@...> wrote: > That's the same kind of cube I started with 2 years > ago. It took it > about a month to become broken in (it actually hurt > my hands when I > first got it). Then I siliconed it and used it > until quite recently, > when I got one of Ton's cubes. I was getting around > 30s (~26s avg > now) with that kind of cube. Should work just fine! > :) > > Daniel > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > "jjthrash" > <jimmy@j...> wrote: > > Hi all, > > > > Sorry for such a basic question.. I bought a cube > from Walmart for > > about $9 which was in one of those hard-to-open > plastic packages. > Is > > this an Oddzon cube? > > > > I've read some disrecommendations for speedcubing, > but is it > possible > > to make one into a "close-enough" speedcube for a > beginner? I've > > lubed it with silicon lubricant and it's better. > I'm not really > > having good luck stretching the springs, but I'm > probably just not > > trying hard enough. > > > > My times are around 1:06 on average, so > "close-enough" should > > probably do me for a while, right? :) > > > > Jimmy > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

I find the difference between an Oddzon and a Studio cube when you don't adjust the screws is negligible. A Studio breaks in a little faster from what I've seen unless you adjust the screws to compensate. My best speed cube now is an Oddzon (still fixing up my studios) and I can pull sub-20 averages on it pretty frequently, so it is possible even to get sub-20 on an Oddzon. Oddzons take more work to break in, but once they do I find them quite nice. Also, if you have any interest whatsoever in one-handed speedcubing then save your Oddzon once it "wears out". "Worn out" Oddzons make EXCELLENT one-handed speedcubes :) Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > Well, the cubes I get from Wal Mart vary drastically > in quality...I got one that needed a severe silicone > job and one that nearly scrambled itself as I > attempted to pull it from the package, I have yet to > do anything to that one and even after the silicone > job on the other I cant tell the difference between > the two! Perhaps I am a lucky case but I find that the > quality differs too much In them for them to > immediately be very good cubes...however, I do average > around 1:10 so my advice mightn't be worth a lick! > -K > > > --- pi3p14159265 <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > > That's the same kind of cube I started with 2 years > > ago. It took it > > about a month to become broken in (it actually hurt > > my hands when I > > first got it). Then I siliconed it and used it > > until quite recently, > > when I got one of Ton's cubes. I was getting around > > 30s (~26s avg > > now) with that kind of cube. Should work just fine! > > :) > > > > Daniel > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > > "jjthrash" > > <jimmy@j...> wrote: > > > Hi all, > > > > > > Sorry for such a basic question.. I bought a cube > > from Walmart for > > > about $9 which was in one of those hard-to-open > > plastic packages. > > Is > > > this an Oddzon cube? > > > > > > I've read some disrecommendations for speedcubing, > > but is it > > possible > > > to make one into a "close-enough" speedcube for a > > beginner? I've > > > lubed it with silicon lubricant and it's better. > > I'm not really > > > having good luck stretching the springs, but I'm > > probably just not > > > trying hard enough. > > > > > > My times are around 1:06 on average, so > > "close-enough" should > > > probably do me for a while, right? :) > > > > > > Jimmy > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! > http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

The cube might be too loose. I don't know how to fix this, either ask someone else or get a new one. Probably ask someone else. Also, try to go slow. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "hovardt" <hovardt@y...> wrote: > At least that's what I think it's called. > > Need some advice on some drills or techniques to avoid getting > corners or sides stuck while twisting. It's REALLY slowing me down > especially in the F2L. I keep having to stop, back up, squeeze > everything together, and then try again. Triggers and macros won't > help me until I can figure out how to improve this. Also leads to > pops, but I guess that's common. > > I'm using a new Hessport which I like for the most part. > > Thanks, > Howard

Why all this technology??? Check out the results of the 100th Japanese Sunday Contest, look for the category where you could practice as much as you want for the same start state. I think the fastest guys got around 6 seconds. That's for solving a whole cube after normal scrambling. With real solving methods, not just inversing the scrambling algs. Other than by *knowing* this is too good to be a regular solve there's no way to tell. Stefan --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > the video couldn't be sped up so as to look incredibly > unnatural...physiology will provide the proper > analysis to prove that, apart from that objective > video analysis and reproduction of skill in a > controlled environment are always handy for proving > someone's skill...however I know of no real video > technology available to the public for free that makes > it easy to reverse video...

Recently I realized something after a friend asked me about it: The vast majority of possible cube states has never appeared on any cube anywhere on the world. It surprised him a lot and I must say it surprised me as well. I had read a few times that it would take you more time to go through all states than the age of the universe, but since I haven't been around that long I can't get a feeling for this so I found my "new" (I can't be the first one) discovery much more impressive. For the calculation we assumed: - All mankind (6 billion people) has got cubes. - All mankind has not done anything but cubing since the cube has been invented (30 years). - Each and every person made one move per second. - There were no duplicate states anywhere anytime. This results in 6000000000*30*365*24*60*60 = 5676480000000000000 states that have appeared sometime on some cube somewhere. That's about 13% of all possible (and valid) cube states. And remember, some of our assumptions might be slightly exaggerated. Similarly surprising (at least for me), you have no chance to listen to a one-hour cd containing just ten tracks in all orders (because that would take more than 400 years of non-stop listening). You could barely make it with a nine track cd but you'd better be young, start right now and never stop (assuming you sometimes wanna sleep and can't listen while sleeping). Cheers! Stefan

Hi Howard, On technique is over- or under-rotating. Suppose you are turning U if you under-rotate it a little bit a following move like R can lock up, but R' won't. If you over-rotate U then R' may lock up but R won't. Also if it starts to lock up you can reverse the move for a moment to align it better. This might not be quick in the middle of a finger trick. Practicing slowly for over- and under-rotating can also increase your accuracy in turning, so that eventually everything lines up correctly and there are no lock ups. Regards, David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "hovardt" <hovardt@y...> wrote: > At least that's what I think it's called. > > Need some advice on some drills or techniques to avoid getting > corners or sides stuck while twisting. It's REALLY slowing me down > especially in the F2L. I keep having to stop, back up, squeeze > everything together, and then try again. Triggers and macros won't > help me until I can figure out how to improve this. Also leads to > pops, but I guess that's common. > > I'm using a new Hessport which I like for the most part. > > Thanks, > Howard

That is very interesting. I always knew that there were more possible combinations than I could even imagine, but I've never thought about it this way. You know on old cubes it says something like, "3 billion possible combinations!"? Somewhere I read that this is similar to saying that the world has at LEAST one person in it. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > Recently I realized something after a friend asked me about it: The > vast majority of possible cube states has never appeared on any cube > anywhere on the world. It surprised him a lot and I must say it > surprised me as well. > > I had read a few times that it would take you more time to go > through all states than the age of the universe, but since I haven't > been around that long I can't get a feeling for this so I found > my "new" (I can't be the first one) discovery much more impressive. > > For the calculation we assumed: > - All mankind (6 billion people) has got cubes. > - All mankind has not done anything but cubing since the cube has > been invented (30 years). > - Each and every person made one move per second. > - There were no duplicate states anywhere anytime. > > This results in 6000000000*30*365*24*60*60 = 5676480000000000000 > states that have appeared sometime on some cube somewhere. That's > about 13% of all possible (and valid) cube states. And remember, > some of our assumptions might be slightly exaggerated. > > Similarly surprising (at least for me), you have no chance to listen > to a one-hour cd containing > just ten tracks in all orders (because that would take more than 400 > years of non-stop listening). You could barely make it with a nine > track cd but you'd better be young, start right now and never stop > (assuming you sometimes wanna sleep and can't listen while sleeping). > > Cheers! > Stefan

> You know on old cubes it says something like, "3 billion possible > combinations!"? Somewhere I read that this is similar to saying that the world has at LEAST one person in it. It's actually closer to saying the world has at least 4500 people on it, but it's amazing none the less! Daniel

Wednesday Contest week 2 is now online and working. -b :) --Brent --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "pi3p14159265" <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > > You know on old cubes it says something like, "3 billion possible > > combinations!"? Somewhere I read that this is similar to saying > that the world has at LEAST one person in it. > > It's actually closer to saying the world has at least 4500 people on > it, but it's amazing none the less! > > > Daniel Actually, it is rather closer to saying that the world has no people in it. 3000000000*6000000000/3^7*2^10*8!*12! is approximately 0.42 (2 decimal places) which is less than 0.5, so it's 0 to the nearest integer. That assumes there are really 6 billion people in the world, which is an underestimate, but even if we assume there are 7 billion people in the world (an overestimate) we find that 3000000000*7000000000/3^7*2^10*8!*12! is approximately 0.49 (2 decimal places) which is less than 0.5, so it's 0 to the nearest integer.

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > Recently I realized something after a friend asked me about it: The > vast majority of possible cube states has never appeared on any cube > anywhere on the world. It surprised him a lot and I must say it > surprised me as well. > > I had read a few times that it would take you more time to go > through all states than the age of the universe, but since I haven't > been around that long I can't get a feeling for this so I found > my "new" (I can't be the first one) discovery much more impressive. > > For the calculation we assumed: > - All mankind (6 billion people) has got cubes. > - All mankind has not done anything but cubing since the cube has > been invented (30 years). > - Each and every person made one move per second. > - There were no duplicate states anywhere anytime. > > This results in 6000000000*30*365*24*60*60 = 5676480000000000000 > states that have appeared sometime on some cube somewhere. That's > about 13% of all possible (and valid) cube states. And remember, > some of our assumptions might be slightly exaggerated. Might be?? You missed out leap days by the way (not that it makes much difference). > > Similarly surprising (at least for me), you have no chance to listen > to a one-hour cd containing > just ten tracks in all orders (because that would take more than 400 > years of non-stop listening). You could barely make it with a nine > track cd but you'd better be young, start right now and never stop > (assuming you sometimes wanna sleep and can't listen while sleeping). You may wish to know that 6 weeks contains exactly 10! seconds (something which occurred to me as my waking thought one morning several years ago - very strange). This is a surprisingly small number of weeks to contain a number of seconds exactly equal to n! for some n, but it does mean that if your CD only comprised 10 tracks each lasting 1 second then you could get through it in 6 weeks. Actually, you could get through it much quicker than this (depending on exactly what you mean). I also believe that it would not take 400 years to get through all the tracks but far less than this. Thus for a 4 track CD, rather than taking 24 hours you could cut it like this: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 4 2 3 1 2 4 3 1 2 4 1 3 2 4 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 4 2 1 3 4 2 1 3 This would take only 9.75 hours (and is probably not optimal, but I can't remember the name for this sort of thing so I can't look up an algorithm for it) and you'd hear all possible orderings of the tracks. > > Cheers! > Stefan

> You may wish to know that 6 weeks contains exactly 10! seconds Thanks, that's indeed a nice observation :-) > Thus for a 4 track CD, rather than taking 24 hours you could cut it > like this: > > 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 4 2 3 1 2 4 3 1 2 4 1 3 2 4 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 4 2 1 > 3 4 2 1 3 Right, I had not thought about it this way. I thought about listening to the whole CD in one ordering, then listen to the whole CD in the next and so on. That results in another factor 10. All right, so you won't be able to do it with eleven tracks ;-) I could've known better, I've worked with this before. I guess the name you forgot is "de Bruijn Sequence" (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/deBruijnSequence.html), right? Stefan

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > You may wish to know that 6 weeks contains exactly 10! seconds > > Thanks, that's indeed a nice observation :-) > > > Thus for a 4 track CD, rather than taking 24 hours you could cut > it > > like this: > > > > 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 4 2 3 1 2 4 3 1 2 4 1 3 2 4 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 4 2 > 1 > > 3 4 2 1 3 > > Right, I had not thought about it this way. I thought about > listening to the whole CD in one ordering, then listen to the whole > CD in the next and so on. That results in another factor 10. All > right, so you won't be able to do it with eleven tracks ;-) > > I could've known better, I've worked with this before. I guess the > name you forgot is "de Bruijn Sequence" > (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/deBruijnSequence.html), right? > That sounds right, except that their definition is more general (it would insist that subsequences like 1 1 1 1 occur, whereas we only need to collect all the subsequences of length 4 where each entry is distinct, so that we don't need to get all subsequences with repeats (although there will be some repeating, of necessity. e.g. 1 2 3 1 above.) > Stefan

when i first read this topic's title, i thought it was some new technology that would help out Michael A. Or something that would prevent cube theft for others...a miniature kryptonite bike lock for cubes...or something that would render the cube useless by locking up the innner mechanism...the cube Club maybe... (i hereby claim the rights to any future creation of such an item ;-) --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "hovardt" <hovardt@y...> wrote: > At least that's what I think it's called. > > Need some advice on some drills or techniques to avoid getting > corners or sides stuck while twisting. It's REALLY slowing me down > especially in the F2L. I keep having to stop, back up, squeeze > everything together, and then try again. Triggers and macros won't > help me until I can figure out how to improve this. Also leads to > pops, but I guess that's common. > > I'm using a new Hessport which I like for the most part. > > Thanks, > Howard

Imagine a cube with embedded magnets, or metal stuff. Beside, an external sensor+timer, that could recognize some kind of magnetic signature corresponding to the cube state. (this signature must be rotation invariant) You begin with a scrambled cube, corresponding to a starting signature (whatever). As soon as it changes, the timer starts. The timer stops when the "solved state" signature is detected. Gilles.

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gilles Roux" <grrroux@f...> wrote: > Imagine a cube with embedded magnets, or metal stuff. > Beside, an external sensor+timer, that could recognize some kind of > magnetic signature corresponding to the cube state. > (this signature must be rotation invariant) > > You begin with a scrambled cube, corresponding to a starting signature > (whatever). As soon as it changes, the timer starts. > The timer stops when the "solved state" signature is detected. Sounds like a neat idea, if not hard to implement. I'm just a newbie, but I can see one thing that it wouldn't account for that current timing systems do. One thing I find as a newbie is that I'll sometimes solve the cube before I'm supposed to - a lucky case. But, it'll take me a second to realize it's solved. I think that one second should be counted in the time. JMHO.. :) Jimmy

I always called it a brain... no, kidding...that seems a tad extreme though...It doesnt take a huge investment to just replace a cube and break it in...and the mechanism youre talking about sounds complex enough to be rather expensive =K= --- mrtrickypants <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > when i first read this topic's title, i thought it > was some new > technology that would help out Michael A. Or > something that would > prevent cube theft for others...a miniature > kryptonite bike lock for > cubes...or something that would render the cube > useless by locking > up the innner mechanism...the cube Club maybe... > > (i hereby claim the rights to any future creation of > such an item ;-) > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > "hovardt" > <hovardt@y...> wrote: > > At least that's what I think it's called. > > > > Need some advice on some drills or techniques to > avoid getting > > corners or sides stuck while twisting. It's > REALLY slowing me > down > > especially in the F2L. I keep having to stop, > back up, squeeze > > everything together, and then try again. Triggers > and macros > won't > > help me until I can figure out how to improve > this. Also leads to > > pops, but I guess that's common. > > > > I'm using a new Hessport which I like for the most > part. > > > > Thanks, > > Howard > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

Heh... that's kinda funny. I can't wait to see everyone showing up at the next WC handcuffed to small briefcases. Someone will certainly open up a Rubik's chop shop to pawn stolen cubies into the black market. Thanks for the replies by the way. :) Howard --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, mrtrickypants <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > when i first read this topic's title, i thought it was some new > technology that would help out Michael A. Or something that would > prevent cube theft for others...a miniature kryptonite bike lock for > cubes...or something that would render the cube useless by locking > up the innner mechanism...the cube Club maybe... > > (i hereby claim the rights to any future creation of such an item ;- ) > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "hovardt" > <hovardt@y...> wrote: > > At least that's what I think it's called. > > > > Need some advice on some drills or techniques to avoid getting > > corners or sides stuck while twisting. It's REALLY slowing me > down > > especially in the F2L. I keep having to stop, back up, squeeze > > everything together, and then try again. Triggers and macros > won't > > help me until I can figure out how to improve this. Also leads to > > pops, but I guess that's common. > > > > I'm using a new Hessport which I like for the most part. > > > > Thanks, > > Howard

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > I always called it a brain... > no, kidding...that seems a tad extreme though...It > doesnt take a huge investment to just replace a cube > and break it in...and the mechanism youre talking > about sounds complex enough to be rather expensive > =K= I think all this could be solved simply by wearing the cube on a chain around one's neck, taking it out occasionally, petting it, and calling it, "My Precious." Jimmy

Aha!! Easy ... Let the next WC be held entirely with java applet or other software "cubes" :-P But i guess that really won't be too much fun, neither for particants nor spectators :-o --cubix-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gilles Roux" <grrroux@f...> wrote: > Imagine a cube with embedded magnets, or metal stuff. > Beside, an external sensor+timer, that could recognize some kind of > magnetic signature corresponding to the cube state. > (this signature must be rotation invariant) > > You begin with a scrambled cube, corresponding to a starting signature > (whatever). As soon as it changes, the timer starts. > The timer stops when the "solved state" signature is detected. > > Gilles.

Hi Gilles, Nice idea! Please try to make one, but also let it record the moves to solve the cube. Then we can decide afterwards whether someone had a lucky case (and not recognize it as a world record). ;-) I will buy one from you for $500. Have fun, Ron ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gilles Roux" <grrroux@...> To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2004 4:15 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Idea for a new timing device > Imagine a cube with embedded magnets, or metal stuff. > Beside, an external sensor+timer, that could recognize some kind of > magnetic signature corresponding to the cube state. > (this signature must be rotation invariant) > > You begin with a scrambled cube, corresponding to a starting signature > (whatever). As soon as it changes, the timer starts. > The timer stops when the "solved state" signature is detected. > > Gilles. > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > ADVERTISEMENT > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- > Yahoo! Groups Links > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > >

Does anybody in this group have experience with this? I thought I'd download it and see if I could move onto my machine, rather than use CubeExplorer on my dad's, so I went and got myself a new operating system. It isn't clear to me that it actually does optimal solving though - i.e. if it does, what does it - or indeed if it is as easy to enter a position as in CE (where one can generate a text file and load it in).

Hi Gilles, Thanks for repeating my idea, which I posted last September: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/message/6564 The simplest thing would be contacts between cubies which when the cube is solved, and only when the cube is solved, completes a circuit which can send out a signal Thanks again, avid j --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gilles Roux" <grrroux@f...> wrote: > Imagine a cube with embedded magnets, or metal stuff. > Beside, an external sensor+timer, that could recognize some kind of > magnetic signature corresponding to the cube state. > (this signature must be rotation invariant) > > You begin with a scrambled cube, corresponding to a starting signature > (whatever). As soon as it changes, the timer starts. > The timer stops when the "solved state" signature is detected. > > Gilles.

MTP, How about a box with a lock on it? :) DJ --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, mrtrickypants <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > when i first read this topic's title, i thought it was some new > technology that would help out Michael A. Or something that would > prevent cube theft for others...a miniature kryptonite bike lock for > cubes...or something that would render the cube useless by locking > up the innner mechanism...the cube Club maybe... > > (i hereby claim the rights to any future creation of such an item ;-) > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "hovardt" > <hovardt@y...> wrote: > > At least that's what I think it's called. > > > > Need some advice on some drills or techniques to avoid getting > > corners or sides stuck while twisting. It's REALLY slowing me > down > > especially in the F2L. I keep having to stop, back up, squeeze > > everything together, and then try again. Triggers and macros > won't > > help me until I can figure out how to improve this. Also leads to > > pops, but I guess that's common. > > > > I'm using a new Hessport which I like for the most part. > > > > Thanks, > > Howard

Cubix, You could have virtual competitors and a virtual audience. DJ --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Per Kristen Fredlund" <aspiring_to_love@y...> wrote: > Aha!! Easy ... > > Let the next WC be held entirely with java applet or other > software "cubes" :-P But i guess that really won't be too much fun, > neither for particants nor spectators :-o > > --cubix-- > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gilles Roux" > <grrroux@f...> wrote: > > Imagine a cube with embedded magnets, or metal stuff. > > Beside, an external sensor+timer, that could recognize some kind of > > magnetic signature corresponding to the cube state. > > (this signature must be rotation invariant) > > > > You begin with a scrambled cube, corresponding to a starting > signature > > (whatever). As soon as it changes, the timer starts. > > The timer stops when the "solved state" signature is detected. > > > > Gilles.

Richard, Is there any way I can email you privately? David j --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, GameOfDeath2 <no_reply@y...> wrote: [snip]

Yes I noticed that it's closer to .45 today... damn slide rules, making you place your own decimal point! Daniel

I have a cube like that in software. I'll release it some day. It's a hard thing to build reliably and cheaply. And without making the cube heavy. I believe more in a camera based system. It's perfectly possible for a computer program given one (or more likely two) camera feed(s) to determine both when you start, when you're done, and what moves you made in between. And even easier for a human judge to determine those things looking at the footage afterwards. /Lars At 3:15 PM +0000 1/29/04, Gilles Roux wrote: >Imagine a cube with embedded magnets, or metal stuff. >Beside, an external sensor+timer, that could recognize some kind of >magnetic signature corresponding to the cube state. >(this signature must be rotation invariant) > >You begin with a scrambled cube, corresponding to a starting signature >(whatever). As soon as it changes, the timer starts. >The timer stops when the "solved state" signature is detected. > >Gilles. -- "They say the grass is greener on the other side, but have you ever flipped it over?" Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@... http://lar5.com

surprisingly i had thought about that...but how fun/imaginative is a locked box? the idea of carrying around a box with a cube in it isn't even close to cool...not to mention all the humour's lost. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > MTP, > > How about a box with a lock on it? :) > > DJ > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, mrtrickypants > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > > > when i first read this topic's title, i thought it was some new > > technology that would help out Michael A. Or something that would > > prevent cube theft for others...a miniature kryptonite bike lock for > > cubes...or something that would render the cube useless by locking > > up the innner mechanism...the cube Club maybe... > > > > (i hereby claim the rights to any future creation of such an item ;-) > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "hovardt" > > <hovardt@y...> wrote: > > > At least that's what I think it's called. > > > > > > Need some advice on some drills or techniques to avoid getting > > > corners or sides stuck while twisting. It's REALLY slowing me > > down > > > especially in the F2L. I keep having to stop, back up, squeeze > > > everything together, and then try again. Triggers and macros > > won't > > > help me until I can figure out how to improve this. Also leads to > > > pops, but I guess that's common. > > > > > > I'm using a new Hessport which I like for the most part. > > > > > > Thanks, > > > Howard

----- Original Message ----- From: "jjthrash" <jimmy@...> To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2004 4:26 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Idea for a new timing device > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gilles Roux" > <grrroux@f...> wrote: > > Imagine a cube with embedded magnets, or metal stuff. > > Beside, an external sensor+timer, that could recognize some kind of > > magnetic signature corresponding to the cube state. > > (this signature must be rotation invariant) > > > > You begin with a scrambled cube, corresponding to a starting > signature > > (whatever). As soon as it changes, the timer starts. > > The timer stops when the "solved state" signature is detected. > > Sounds like a neat idea, if not hard to implement. I'm just a newbie, > but I can see one thing that it wouldn't account for that current > timing systems do. One thing I find as a newbie is that I'll > sometimes solve the cube before I'm supposed to - a lucky case. But, > it'll take me a second to realize it's solved. I think that one > second should be counted in the time. > > JMHO.. :) > > Jimmy > And if you as the last move do an incorrect H move instead of a Q move, it will still be counted as correct. R > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

> surprisingly i had thought about that...but how fun/imaginative is a > locked box? the idea of carrying around a box with a cube in it > isn't even close to cool...not to mention all the humour's lost. But don't you see the blatant obvious advantage? You can *sit* on it! Also, if it's made out of glas then everybody will still be able to see how cool you are! Stefan

> but how fun/imaginative is a locked box? Depends entirely on the box. > not to mention all the humour's lost I thought you were serious. As jokes go that's ancient. So you get to school, and go to the bike rack and lock up your bike, then you go to the cube rack and lock up your cube. Oh, I suppose you could chain it to your ankle. (?) DJ --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, mrtrickypants <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > surprisingly i had thought about that...but how fun/imaginative is a > locked box? the idea of carrying around a box with a cube in it > isn't even close to cool...not to mention all the humour's lost. > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" > <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > > MTP, > > > > How about a box with a lock on it? :) > > > > DJ > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, mrtrickypants > > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > > > > > when i first read this topic's title, i thought it was some new > > > technology that would help out Michael A. Or something that > would > > > prevent cube theft for others...a miniature kryptonite bike lock > for > > > cubes...or something that would render the cube useless by > locking > > > up the innner mechanism...the cube Club maybe... > > > > > > (i hereby claim the rights to any future creation of such an > item ;-) > > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "hovardt" > > > <hovardt@y...> wrote: > > > > At least that's what I think it's called. > > > > > > > > Need some advice on some drills or techniques to avoid getting > > > > corners or sides stuck while twisting. It's REALLY slowing me > > > down > > > > especially in the F2L. I keep having to stop, back up, > squeeze > > > > everything together, and then try again. Triggers and macros > > > won't > > > > help me until I can figure out how to improve this. Also > leads to > > > > pops, but I guess that's common. > > > > > > > > I'm using a new Hessport which I like for the most part. > > > > > > > > Thanks, > > > > Howard

David and Lars: I was thinking of something without any electronic device in the cube itself, because it has to be robust and light. Something passive, like those tags found on articles protected by a security system. A camera based system would be nice (completely external), but having worked in pattern recognition, I'm very skeptical about the feasibility (hands occluding shapes, light conditions...). What about X-rays or Gamma-rays? Mmhh... ok, forget it. Maybe it's not possible. Gilles.

Hey everyone, Daniel Henage was very nice and has helped me host some videos. When I have some time, I'll figure out which video is which solve but for now... here you go. http://www.henage.net/dan/cube/index.htm I do know that the one where Macky says "yes" at the end is the 14.76 seconds. It's quite unfortunate that the records aren't official. I'm not so sure who to talk to in order to get the records there. I've been e-mail around... I'm working on making the tournaments at Caltech official. We need to set up something like the US Chess Federation does wich official tournaments and ratings and... well, you get the idea. Would we get sued if we set this up without licensing? -Tyson --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Jessica Fridrich" <Jess340@h...> wrote: > Thanks for the link. I am stunned how good Macky was. He must have > kept completely cool. I, too, see no reason why this should not be > considered a world record. The organizers should contact Guiness. > Macky deserves a mention there. > > BTW, this confirms my belief that young competitors around 14 have an > advantage in competitions because they can keep a lot more cool than > oldies who already depleted their nerves on other things :) > > Jessica > > P.S.: Anybody knows what system he is using? I want to learn it > asap ... :) > > > I was there and got second place with..., well the numbers aren't > important :) > > > > It was only the fourth cube competition I'd ever been at, and > > annoyingly enough I still got far too nervous and made a lot of > > mistakes. As did most people there, except for the young and > > outstanding winner. > > > > Is there any reason Macky's times should not be > considered 'offical' > > world records, BTW? Timing was done with the stack timers and > > followed all procedures from the WC, and the competition was open > to > > the public and announced weeks in advance. What else would you > need?? > > > > I know in some sports (shooting, f ex) world records are only set > at > > world championships, since that is where the pressure is biggest. > > > > I hope there are more simple local competitions popping up. The > other > > three competitions I have been to have been two world championships > > and one national. I can't think of any other sport where the > > competitions are so top heavy. > > > > /Lars > > > > PS. The full results are here: > > http://speedcubing.com/events/caltech_jan2004.html > > > > At 4:21 PM +0000 1/28/04, Jessica Fridrich wrote: > > >Wow, congratulation, Macky!! Those are fantastic times and > performed > > >in front of an audience and not on a sofa! > > > > > >Lars, did you take part in the competition? BTW, I still have > garlic > > >aftertaste from that garlic ice cream at The Stinking Rose! :) > > > > > >Jessica > > > > -- > > "They say the grass is greener on the other side, but have you ever > > flipped it over?" > > > > Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@l... http://lar5.com

Gosh... I feel old fashioned. I seem to prefer the Stackmat as I just accept the time it takes one to hit the timer after solving the cube as part of the activity itself. It would be like letting runners of the 100 meter dash start their times when their foot leaves the starting block... -Tyson --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gilles Roux" <grrroux@f...> wrote: > David and Lars: > > I was thinking of something without any electronic device in the cube > itself, because it has to be robust and light. > Something passive, like those tags found on articles protected by a > security system. > > A camera based system would be nice (completely external), but having > worked in pattern recognition, I'm very skeptical about the > feasibility (hands occluding shapes, light conditions...). > What about X-rays or Gamma-rays? Mmhh... ok, forget it. > > Maybe it's not possible. > > Gilles.

I understand ytou are planning a European WC in Amsterdan this year and a WC in Orlando next year. I would like to exhibit in Orlando. I cannot come to Amsterdan. It's too far and, frankly, it is neither Prague or Budaprst. In Prague I feel at home, I was born there. And Mr. Rubik is in Budapest; I would like to see a glimpse of him. Also, lugging hunderds of cubes overseas is too daunting a prospect for me. In Toronto there was no one except myself exhibiting any cube art. I bhope this sitruation will change and at least *someone else* will come. I wish to thnk all those, who liked my designs, even if was a bit of an anomaly. Hana a nostky

Hey! I also have a software for 3x3x3 cube, the CubixPlayer that can be found in the file section of this group. For now it only measures in 1/10 th second. It has quite a few scrambling/preview/timing features and a nice hiscore list of ur best times. There still remains lots to be done on it. And i would really like to extend it to larger cubes, and also allow "super-supercubing" with it. By that i mean to completely solve all cubicles, be it external or internal :D An easy solution to that would be lots and lots of 3 cycles and solve from "inside out" to be sure to keep all solved internal cubicles, but there might be more efficent methods to solve it also ;-) --Per K-- PS! The time will start to run either when preinspection time has run out, or if u specify u want to allow early start it will start the time after ur first move during preinspection :-) And time stops when it's solved, regardless of physical orientation of the cube ... > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Lars Petrus <lars@n...> wrote: > I have a cube like that in software. I'll release it some day. > > It's a hard thing to build reliably and cheaply. And without making > the cube heavy. > > I believe more in a camera based system. It's perfectly possible for > a computer program given one (or more likely two) camera feed(s) to > determine both when you start, when you're done, and what moves you > made in between. And even easier for a human judge to determine those > things looking at the footage afterwards. > > /Lars > > At 3:15 PM +0000 1/29/04, Gilles Roux wrote: > >Imagine a cube with embedded magnets, or metal stuff. > >Beside, an external sensor+timer, that could recognize some kind of > >magnetic signature corresponding to the cube state. > >(this signature must be rotation invariant) > > > >You begin with a scrambled cube, corresponding to a starting signature > >(whatever). As soon as it changes, the timer starts. > >The timer stops when the "solved state" signature is detected. > > > >Gilles. > > -- > "They say the grass is greener on the other side, but have you ever > flipped it over?" > > Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@l... http://lar5.com

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > Richard, > > Is there any way I can email you privately? > > David j > You could get my email address from Ron. > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, GameOfDeath2 > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > [snip]

You guys seem to be trying to say that Stefan is wrong. He is not. Here is the math. There are 10 tracks that can go first, 9 that can go second... hence 10! or 10*9*8*7*6*5*4*3*2*1 which is 3628800, which is the number of combinations possible and the numer of hours it would take. divide by 24 to get days, then 365.25 (approximate number of days in a year, accounting for leap year) to get the number of years. (10!/24)/365.25=413.96303901437371663244353182752 years Stefan Pochmann <pochmann@...> wrote: Recently I realized something after a friend asked me about it: The vast majority of possible cube states has never appeared on any cube anywhere on the world. It surprised him a lot and I must say it surprised me as well. I had read a few times that it would take you more time to go through all states than the age of the universe, but since I haven't been around that long I can't get a feeling for this so I found my "new" (I can't be the first one) discovery much more impressive. For the calculation we assumed: - All mankind (6 billion people) has got cubes. - All mankind has not done anything but cubing since the cube has been invented (30 years). - Each and every person made one move per second. - There were no duplicate states anywhere anytime. This results in 6000000000*30*365*24*60*60 = 5676480000000000000 states that have appeared sometime on some cube somewhere. That's about 13% of all possible (and valid) cube states. And remember, some of our assumptions might be slightly exaggerated. Similarly surprising (at least for me), you have no chance to listen to a one-hour cd containing just ten tracks in all orders (because that would take more than 400 years of non-stop listening). You could barely make it with a nine track cd but you'd better be young, start right now and never stop (assuming you sometimes wanna sleep and can't listen while sleeping). Cheers! Stefan --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

www.stupidvideos.com They have Ron's video. It's #3 on the list to the left. How dare they call speedcubing stupid?! The lunatics.

that's ridiculous...how could you classify a sport based on intelligence and dexterity stupid? --- Michael Atkinson <unipsycho6@...> wrote: > www.stupidvideos.com > They have Ron's video. How dare they call > speedcubing stupid?! The > lunatics. > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

It's getting one of the lowest ratings on the site, placing it at number 612 of 667 videos. So it seems the voting public agrees. It's not a stupid video. /Lars At 7:13 PM -0800 1/29/04, Kyle Bryant wrote: >that's ridiculous...how could you classify a sport >based on intelligence and dexterity stupid? >--- Michael Atkinson <unipsycho6@...> wrote: >> www.stupidvideos.com >> They have Ron's video. How dare they call >> speedcubing stupid?! The > > lunatics. -- "They say the grass is greener on the other side, but have you ever flipped it over?" Lars Petrus, San Francisco - lars@... http://lar5.com

Some people find something stupid all of the time. And btw that list is in chronological order of being submitted. Even "bad publicity" is publicity ... hehe :-) --cubix-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > www.stupidvideos.com > They have Ron's video. It's #3 on the list to the left. How dare > they call speedcubing stupid?! The lunatics.

I was hoping it would be Dan Knights as the "previous" champion, however he wants to compete (which is fair enough of course!). We'll probably get an "entertainer" host who will co-ordinate the event on the day. I'm sure everyone will "help-out" with suggestions when we get the nearer the time - all constructive input will be welcome ! Dave -----Original Message----- From: Jessica Fridrich [mailto:Jess340@...] Sent: 28 January 2004 17:55 To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: wc2005? Dave, thank you for your note. I was unaware of this. So, I assume the championship will take place in Florida? Who will be the event organizer? Seven Towns? Jessica P.S.: My apology if this has been discussed here before. Recently, I have not been checking this site too frequently. > Hi Jessica > > There will definitely be a 2005 Championship. I saw the Disney Pop Century > Resort last week and it's a great venue, they will give us a good deal > (rooms plus free rides etc) so I'm working on it and hope to confirm next > month after I've met with the US distributors (who would support the event > financially). > > So.. it's looking good and you shouldn't have to wait until 2024! > > Best wishes > Dave > David Hedley Jones > Business Development Director > Seven Towns Ltd > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Jessica Fridrich [mailto:Jess340@h...] > Sent: 28 January 2004 16:16 > To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: wc2005? > > > WC 2003 happened only because there was someone who could and was > willing to dedicate a major part of his time to the organization. > Unless we find another person like this and unless this person > succeeds to get the sponsors interested, there will be no > championship. Here is my guess - the 3rd championship will take place > in 2024 when another generation of cubers and sponsors comes. > > I wish I was wrong. > > Jessica > > > I was reading on Jessica's site, and I came across this on her > > wc2003 page: > > > > After the first World Championship in Rubik's Cube in 1982, rumors > > started that the next one will take place the following year, most > > likely in Los Angeles. If someone told me then that I would have to > > wait 21 years for the next one, I would dismiss this nonsense > > immediately. > > > > I doubt this will happen a second time, but since there's been no > > updates lately on the location, the date/time, or anything, I'm > > beginning to wonder. > > > > SO anyway, has the place (at least the country) and the date been > > decided yet? > > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > ADVERTISEMENT > > < http://rd.yahoo.com/SIG=12ceor9ih/M=267637.4116730.5333196.1261774/D= <http://rd.yahoo.com/SIG=12ceor9ih/M=267637.4116730.5333196.1261774/D=> egroup > web/S=1705297356:HM/EXP=1075393052/A=1945638/R=0/* http://www.netflix.c <http://www.netflix.c> om/Def > ault?mqso=60178383&partid=4116730> click here > > < http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l? <http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?> M=267637.4116730.5333196.1261774/D=egroupmai > l/S=:HM/A=1945638/rand=982094937> > > > _____ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > * To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/> > < http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/> > > > > * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > <mailto:speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com? subject=Unsubscri > be> > > > * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service > < http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> > . > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] _____ Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/> * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <mailto:speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscri be> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Chris Taylor <duct_tape06@y...> wrote: > You guys seem to be trying to say that Stefan is wrong. He is not. > Here is the math. I am familiar with the mathematics - what I am saying is that it takes less than 400 years to listen to all possible orders of the tracks. If you insist that the orderings do not overlap then it certainly does take over 400 years, but if you allow overlapping then it will not. This is quite evident; see the earlier post on what happens with a 4 track CD for example. The time saving there is quite large. Here are some other examples for 2 and 3 track CDs: 2 track 1 2 1 - total time 1.5 hours (0.5 hours less than the 2 hours of 1 2 2 1) 3 track 1 2 3 1 2 1 3 2 1 - total time 3 hours (3 hours less than the 6 hours of 1 2 3 1 3 2 2 1 3 2 3 1 3 1 2 3 2 1)

Hey everyone, I've recently gotten very into supercubing of all sizes of cubes (3x3x3 through 5x5x5) and I wanted to post a message about it to try to get others into this! At first I wasn't especially fond of supercubing, nothing about it interested me really. However recently since I started thinking about the supercube on my own, and how that would change the solving strategy, I got really into it. Plus you can check out Per Kristen Fredlund's posts about some of the theory and especially the center flip algorithm list, which is very helpful! Of course it's a little weird at first because all the times you are used to for each size are way too fast for your supercube goals, but after some practice it is a lot of fun. You start to really develop a feel for how the larger cubes work when you supercube them. One thing that surprised me is that solving the centers "incorrectly" does NOT cause the 4x4x4 orientation parity, it still occurs on a super 4x4x4. You can have the centers solved according to definition but still encounter the orientation parity. So aaaaaaaanyway Mr. Fredlund issued a challenge on the 3x3x3 super cube average list for people to pick up supercubing, and I do the same! Let's get some competition going on the supercube lists. Think about it, we're only solving half the problem when we speedcube, solving with the center orientation mattering only makes it MORE of a puzzle. You have to work harder during the F2L, change some of your LL algorithms and strategies, so in my opinion it is more fun! Not to mention supercubing with no inspection! I use a completely different strategy for my no inspection solves during the F2L than for my normal averages. For the normal 3x3x3 you can use the same strategy for both, but it doesn't quite work on the super cube. I mean come on, how cool is that? :) Give it a try! It may seem weird at first, I thought so, but once you try it a few times you get hooked! So from me and Mr. Fredlund, we challenge other speedcubers to try supercubing and see what you think :) It is actually a lot of fun, and I really do recommend just trying it once. Just to try it you can place some scotch tape over the centers of your 3x3x3 and draw arrows on them, that way you can remove the tape if you don't like it. Happy cubing, Chris P.S. I didn't even mention anything about blindfolded supercubing, but I have to say it is awesome! The best I've gotten so far is all the corners and edges solved and the centers all flipped correctly except for one flipped twice. If you like blindfolded cubing, then try blindfolded supercubing, it is much more intense and in my opinion a lot more fun.

It takes about 7 years for the best to become an expert in the chess game and 1 year to become an expert of the speedcubist. Learning, being young is a trump for performance. However the cube offers a variety of record. Kasparov is the top 1 young person 1985 with 22 & Macky 2004 with 13 is very cool for speedcubist reference ! Anyway young and no young the cube is variety record official and history too. Richard Korf, many inventor puzzle, David Singmaster, personnel method and more….. The dream federation cube is'nt guinness. Variety + history + record and annuel magazine:)). I'm not realist and Guinness is the only one official. Poor guinness and many cheap record. The cube is the beautifull power force. Gaétan Guimond > Wow, congratulation, Macky!! > > Macky won with the middle 3 of 5 average of 16.53 seconds. > > > > His slowest solve of the final 5 scrambles was 18.05 which is two > full > > seconds faster than the average of the present "official" World's > record. > > > > Macky's time in the "Champion's Solve" right after the winner was > > declared was 12.28 sconds. > >

Yesterday I realized you only need to turn 5 faces to solve a cube, turning the 6th can be emulated (e.g. L R' F2 L2 R2 B2 L R' U2 L2 R2, then the desired turn, then reverse the first part). Is anything known about solving the cube like this? Problem space diameter? Shorter emulating algorithm? Does it work for supercubing (assuming of course the face wasn't turned for scrambling ;-)? Also, four faces are not enough. If the missing two are opposite, you can't orient edges and if they're adjacent then their common edge can't be moved. Stefan

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > Yesterday I realized you only need to turn 5 faces to solve a cube, > turning the 6th can be emulated (e.g. L R' F2 L2 R2 B2 L R' U2 L2 R2, > then the desired turn, then reverse the first part). > Also, four faces are not enough. If the missing two are opposite, you > can't orient edges and if they're adjacent then their common edge > can't be moved. Very fun indeed. This is the shortest I could find (in this case for F-): D+ U+ L2 R2 D- U- B- D- U- L2 R2 D+ U+ (that's 13 moves). Don't know about the diameter, but off hand, if you had to restrict the set of moves (from the 18 possible) to a maximum of 5, which would give the highest diameter? You'd probably want to have all double-twists, with only a few (or one) single-twists. Is the set U2 F2 R D2 B2 sufficient to solve any cube? I think it's pretty easy to prove that you need at least three single-twists in there, so is the set U F R D2 B2 sufficient to solve any cube?

Hey! You can emulate D with the following sequence of moves : R'aF2sRaUR'aF2sRa This one is also a "classic" mentioned in Singmaster's famous 'Notes on Rubik's magic Cube' from 1980 :D --cubix-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > Yesterday I realized you only need to turn 5 faces to solve a cube, > turning the 6th can be emulated (e.g. L R' F2 L2 R2 B2 L R' U2 L2 R2, > then the desired turn, then reverse the first part). > > Is anything known about solving the cube like this? Problem space > diameter? Shorter emulating algorithm? Does it work for supercubing > (assuming of course the face wasn't turned for scrambling ;-)? > > Also, four faces are not enough. If the missing two are opposite, you > can't orient edges and if they're adjacent then their common edge > can't be moved. > > Stefan

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey everyone, I've recently gotten very into supercubing of all > sizes of cubes (3x3x3 through 5x5x5) and I wanted to post a message > about it to try to get others into this! At first I wasn't > especially fond of supercubing, nothing about it interested me > really. However recently since I started thinking about the > supercube on my own, and how that would change the solving strategy, > I got really into it. Plus you can check out Per Kristen Fredlund's > posts about some of the theory and especially the center flip > algorithm list, which is very helpful! Of course it's a little > weird at first because all the times you are used to for each size > are way too fast for your supercube goals, but after some practice > it is a lot of fun. You start to really develop a feel for how the > larger cubes work when you supercube them. One thing that surprised > me is that solving the centers "incorrectly" does NOT cause the > 4x4x4 orientation parity, it still occurs on a super 4x4x4. You can > have the centers solved according to definition but still encounter > the orientation parity. So aaaaaaaanyway Mr. Fredlund issued a > challenge on the 3x3x3 super cube average list for people to pick up > supercubing, and I do the same! Let's get some competition going on > the supercube lists. > > Think about it, we're only solving half the problem when we > speedcube, solving with the center orientation mattering only makes > it MORE of a puzzle. You have to work harder during the F2L, change > some of your LL algorithms and strategies, so in my opinion it is > more fun! Not to mention supercubing with no inspection! I use a > completely different strategy for my no inspection solves during the > F2L than for my normal averages. For the normal 3x3x3 you can use > the same strategy for both, but it doesn't quite work on the super > cube. I mean come on, how cool is that? :) > > Give it a try! It may seem weird at first, I thought so, but once > you try it a few times you get hooked! > > So from me and Mr. Fredlund, we challenge other speedcubers to try > supercubing and see what you think :) It is actually a lot of fun, > and I really do recommend just trying it once. Just to try it you > can place some scotch tape over the centers of your 3x3x3 and draw > arrows on them, that way you can remove the tape if you don't like > it. > > Happy cubing, > Chris > > P.S. I didn't even mention anything about blindfolded supercubing, > but I have to say it is awesome! The best I've gotten so far is all > the corners and edges solved and the centers all flipped correctly > except for one flipped twice. If you like blindfolded cubing, then > try blindfolded supercubing, it is much more intense and in my > opinion a lot more fun. I've only tried blindfold 3x3x3 supercubing so far - I'm going to try 4x4x4 after I get 3+3+4+5 done. 3x3x3 isn't really so difficult as almost all the moves I use in my normal method preserve the centre orientation (edge 3-cycles and twisting 3 corners don't but if I do the inverse of the edge 3-cycle twice that does and it has the same effect (in the usual group) as the intended 3-cycle). Thus, blindfold supercubing can be done fairly easily by just correcting all the centres at the start or at the end. 4x4x4 is more interesting. I'd need to paint my cube first and use a different labelling for my centers (as currently, of course, I don't distinguish centers of the same colour). In BCFSSS, and even in BCFTSS, each algorithm comes with a description of its effect on the centres, so that if learned in full it can be used as a supercubing system. In some sense, the 3x3x3 supergroup isn't really a supergroup. Rather the usual group is isomorphic to a quotient group (instead of a subgroup) of the larger group.

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "tomrokicki" <rokicki@c...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" > <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > Yesterday I realized you only need to turn 5 faces to solve a cube, > > turning the 6th can be emulated (e.g. L R' F2 L2 R2 B2 L R' U2 L2 > R2, > > then the desired turn, then reverse the first part). > > > Also, four faces are not enough. If the missing two are opposite, > you > > can't orient edges and if they're adjacent then their common edge > > can't be moved. > > Very fun indeed. This is the shortest I could find (in this case > for F-): > > D+ U+ L2 R2 D- U- B- D- U- L2 R2 D+ U+ > > (that's 13 moves). > > Don't know about the diameter, but off hand, if you had to restrict > the set of moves (from the 18 possible) to a maximum of 5, which would > give the highest diameter? I'm curious about the diameter of the cube with just the 2 generators: UBLUL'U'B' R^2FLD'R' (see http://web.usna.navy.mil/~wdj/sm485_11.txt) Clearly this is a minimal generating set as the cube group is not Abelian. The supergroup needs 6 generators (and clearly 6 is sufficient, namely U, D, F, B, R and L) as can be seen by the fact that if the action of 5 generators on the centres is considered then the generators commute and, since each has order dividing 4 (in terms of their effect on the centres) only 1024 possible orientations of the centres can occur (whereas there should be 2048 for the supergroup). >You'd probably want to have all > double-twists, with only a few (or one) single-twists. Is the set U2 > F2 R D2 B2 sufficient to solve any cube? I think it's pretty easy to > prove that you need at least three single-twists in there, so is the > set U F R D2 B2 sufficient to solve any cube?

The start is the same but the end is different. At the end of the hundred meter dash would you have the runners drop to the ground and place their hands on the stackmat instead of having their times stop when they reach the end of the 100 meters? All tolled, the stackmat is a reasonable timer. Takes a little getting used to, but I like it. DJ --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, tmao@i... wrote: > Gosh... I feel old fashioned. I seem to prefer the Stackmat as I just accept the time it > takes one to hit the timer after solving the cube as part of the activity itself. It would > be like letting runners of the 100 meter dash start their times when their foot leaves > the starting block... > > -Tyson > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gilles Roux" <grrroux@f...> > wrote: > > David and Lars: > > > > I was thinking of something without any electronic device in the cube > > itself, because it has to be robust and light. > > Something passive, like those tags found on articles protected by a > > security system. > > > > A camera based system would be nice (completely external), but having > > worked in pattern recognition, I'm very skeptical about the > > feasibility (hands occluding shapes, light conditions...). > > What about X-rays or Gamma-rays? Mmhh... ok, forget it. > > > > Maybe it's not possible. > > > > Gilles.

My brother broke my homer simpson head rubik's cube, and I can't figure out how to put it back together. Could anyone tell me? Thanks! Adrian [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Well, all I know is that regular 2x2s can be a pain to put back together...so...good luck with that! --- Adrian <fatansn2@...> wrote: > My brother broke my homer simpson head rubik's cube, > and I can't figure out how to put it back together. > Could anyone tell me? Thanks! > > Adrian > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

Hey! Yes let's all start supercubing :D Well, my strategy for speedsupercubing is first normal solve, then orient all the centers (3,4 or 5 algs that are all very fast to perform). But when i solve wrt number of moves it's a different story. It's difficult to describe in detail how that is done. But here are some clues : 1: Solve first layer edges while also orienting 5 of the facecenters, the facecenter of first layer and also all adjacent faces to that layer. (eg orient U,F,R,B and L facecenters, where U is ur first layer to solve) 2: Solve 3 middle layer edges while trying to solve "cheaply" some of first layer corners. (avoid difficult cases for step 3+4) 3: Solve remaining edges such that last facecenter is oriented correctly. 4: Apply some 3 cycles on remaining corners and it's done :-) For each of the steps try to "get more than u are bargaining for", and also try to make ur remaining steps easier. This is where u can save lots of moves with more practice :-) I'm down to best average of about 53 moves for supercubing. --cubix-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, GameOfDeath2 <no_reply@y...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > Hey everyone, I've recently gotten very into supercubing of all > > sizes of cubes (3x3x3 through 5x5x5) and I wanted to post a > message > > about it to try to get others into this! At first I wasn't > > especially fond of supercubing, nothing about it interested me > > really. However recently since I started thinking about the > > supercube on my own, and how that would change the solving > strategy, > > I got really into it. Plus you can check out Per Kristen > Fredlund's > > posts about some of the theory and especially the center flip > > algorithm list, which is very helpful! Of course it's a little > > weird at first because all the times you are used to for each size > > are way too fast for your supercube goals, but after some practice > > it is a lot of fun. You start to really develop a feel for how > the > > larger cubes work when you supercube them. One thing that > surprised > > me is that solving the centers "incorrectly" does NOT cause the > > 4x4x4 orientation parity, it still occurs on a super 4x4x4. You > can > > have the centers solved according to definition but still > encounter > > the orientation parity. So aaaaaaaanyway Mr. Fredlund issued a > > challenge on the 3x3x3 super cube average list for people to pick > up > > supercubing, and I do the same! Let's get some competition going > on > > the supercube lists. > > > > Think about it, we're only solving half the problem when we > > speedcube, solving with the center orientation mattering only > makes > > it MORE of a puzzle. You have to work harder during the F2L, > change > > some of your LL algorithms and strategies, so in my opinion it is > > more fun! Not to mention supercubing with no inspection! I use a > > completely different strategy for my no inspection solves during > the > > F2L than for my normal averages. For the normal 3x3x3 you can use > > the same strategy for both, but it doesn't quite work on the super > > cube. I mean come on, how cool is that? :) > > > > Give it a try! It may seem weird at first, I thought so, but once > > you try it a few times you get hooked! > > > > So from me and Mr. Fredlund, we challenge other speedcubers to try > > supercubing and see what you think :) It is actually a lot of > fun, > > and I really do recommend just trying it once. Just to try it you > > can place some scotch tape over the centers of your 3x3x3 and draw > > arrows on them, that way you can remove the tape if you don't like > > it. > > > > Happy cubing, > > Chris > > > > P.S. I didn't even mention anything about blindfolded > supercubing, > > but I have to say it is awesome! The best I've gotten so far is > all > > the corners and edges solved and the centers all flipped correctly > > except for one flipped twice. If you like blindfolded cubing, > then > > try blindfolded supercubing, it is much more intense and in my > > opinion a lot more fun. > > I've only tried blindfold 3x3x3 supercubing so far - I'm going to > try 4x4x4 after I get 3+3+4+5 done. 3x3x3 isn't really so difficult > as almost all the moves I use in my normal method preserve the > centre orientation (edge 3-cycles and twisting 3 corners don't but > if I do the inverse of the edge 3-cycle twice that does and it has > the same effect (in the usual group) as the intended 3-cycle). Thus, > blindfold supercubing can be done fairly easily by just correcting > all the centres at the start or at the end. 4x4x4 is more > interesting. I'd need to paint my cube first and use a different > labelling for my centers (as currently, of course, I don't > distinguish centers of the same colour). > In BCFSSS, and even in BCFTSS, each algorithm comes with a > description of its effect on the centres, so that if learned in full > it can be used as a supercubing system. > > In some sense, the 3x3x3 supergroup isn't really a supergroup. > Rather the usual group is isomorphic to a quotient group (instead of > a subgroup) of the larger group.

Here are also some strategies for supercubing that I have found useful. I'm still tweaking my method, but I have found this strategy to be good enough to keep. When solving and I am allowed to inspect the cube I try to find the best way to solve the cross and also orient the first five centers at the same time. In the 15 seconds it is often not possible to plan the whole cross, so I try to plan orienting correctly the center of the first layer and placing at least 2 edges, while also orienting their centers. While I am performing the moves to solve those first two edges with their centers I am looking ahead on the other centers and edges and I try to place them after the first two so that their centers are oriented correctly. At this point you can solve the F2L normally, only be very careful with empty slot algorithms, as they tend to flip the centers of the side faces or the first layer. Once I've finished the F2L there is a fairly decent chance that I have flipped at least one center in the middle, though this doesn't always happen. I then solve the LL normally, OLL and PLL. The OLLs don't always flip centers in the middle but sometimes they do. The PLL tend to flip the centers, so start to go through your algs and see how they do, so you can predict the outcome of the center flips after you have finished the PLL. While you are performing the PLL, look ahead and judge how all the centers will be oriented. If you solve the F2L carefully, and try to avoid empty slot cases and any other cases that flip centers, then it is most likely that you only have two centers to flip correctly. At this point perform the center flip alg as fast as you can :) It also happens fairly often that you don't have to flip centers in the end, if you can take advantage of knowing how your PLLs flip centers. Say my permutation case is an edge 3 cycle, and I know that I have flipped one of the side (F2L) centers twice. If I notice that the U center is also flipped twice I can turn the top layer so that the side center and the U center line up in such a way that performing the edge 3 cycle (which flips two adjacent centers twice) will solve both centers as well. For solving with no inspection the strategy stays the same except for the F2L. First solve the cross as fast as possible (just like in a normal 3x3x3 no inspection solve), but make sure you solve the pieces around the first layer center correctly. On inserting the last edge, first line it up with its center and then move it to the U layer (I solve cross on bottom), so that a double turn will return it to the first layer and also have the center flipped correctly. Now use the empty slot created on the D layer by your missing cross piece to flip the other side face centers. So for example say my last cross piece is on the R face, and I have it lined up with the center such that an R2 move will solve the edge into the cross and line up the center correctly. To flip the other centers just do the move d then R, R', or R2 to flip the F face center (now moved to the R face) correctly. After flipping the center do d again and now the L face center ends up on the R face, turn the R face so that the center lines up, do d again, etc. This saves time from trying to solve the cross so that all the cross pieces solve, and the first 5 centers solve as well. I'm still debating whether or not it would be faster after completing the OLL to correctly orient the U layer center and then use corner and edge cycles that don't affect the center to return the U layer pieces to their correct spots, or to just use a PLL alg, then flip two centers at the end. I assume if you were to get very serious about supercubing, that you would do the first and just have lots of specialized algs for each U layer case. Heh heh so yeah, that was a long post. But there are the strategies I use for speed supercubing. Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Per Kristen Fredlund" <aspiring_to_love@y...> wrote: > Hey! > > Yes let's all start supercubing :D > > Well, my strategy for speedsupercubing is first normal solve, then > orient all the centers (3,4 or 5 algs that are all very fast to > perform). But when i solve wrt number of moves it's a different > story. It's difficult to describe in detail how that is done. But > here are some clues : > > 1: Solve first layer edges while also orienting 5 of the facecenters, > the facecenter of first layer and also all adjacent faces to that > layer. (eg orient U,F,R,B and L facecenters, where U is ur first > layer to solve) > > 2: Solve 3 middle layer edges while trying to solve "cheaply" some of > first layer corners. (avoid difficult cases for step 3+4) > > 3: Solve remaining edges such that last facecenter is oriented > correctly. > > 4: Apply some 3 cycles on remaining corners and it's done :-) > > For each of the steps try to "get more than u are bargaining for", > and also try to make ur remaining steps easier. This is where u can > save lots of moves with more practice :-) > > I'm down to best average of about 53 moves for supercubing. > > --cubix-- > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, GameOfDeath2 > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw > > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > > Hey everyone, I've recently gotten very into supercubing of all > > > sizes of cubes (3x3x3 through 5x5x5) and I wanted to post a > > message > > > about it to try to get others into this! At first I wasn't > > > especially fond of supercubing, nothing about it interested me > > > really. However recently since I started thinking about the > > > supercube on my own, and how that would change the solving > > strategy, > > > I got really into it. Plus you can check out Per Kristen > > Fredlund's > > > posts about some of the theory and especially the center flip > > > algorithm list, which is very helpful! Of course it's a little > > > weird at first because all the times you are used to for each > size > > > are way too fast for your supercube goals, but after some > practice > > > it is a lot of fun. You start to really develop a feel for how > > the > > > larger cubes work when you supercube them. One thing that > > surprised > > > me is that solving the centers "incorrectly" does NOT cause the > > > 4x4x4 orientation parity, it still occurs on a super 4x4x4. You > > can > > > have the centers solved according to definition but still > > encounter > > > the orientation parity. So aaaaaaaanyway Mr. Fredlund issued a > > > challenge on the 3x3x3 super cube average list for people to pick > > up > > > supercubing, and I do the same! Let's get some competition going > > on > > > the supercube lists. > > > > > > Think about it, we're only solving half the problem when we > > > speedcube, solving with the center orientation mattering only > > makes > > > it MORE of a puzzle. You have to work harder during the F2L, > > change > > > some of your LL algorithms and strategies, so in my opinion it is > > > more fun! Not to mention supercubing with no inspection! I use > a > > > completely different strategy for my no inspection solves during > > the > > > F2L than for my normal averages. For the normal 3x3x3 you can > use > > > the same strategy for both, but it doesn't quite work on the > super > > > cube. I mean come on, how cool is that? :) > > > > > > Give it a try! It may seem weird at first, I thought so, but > once > > > you try it a few times you get hooked! > > > > > > So from me and Mr. Fredlund, we challenge other speedcubers to > try > > > supercubing and see what you think :) It is actually a lot of > > fun, > > > and I really do recommend just trying it once. Just to try it > you > > > can place some scotch tape over the centers of your 3x3x3 and > draw > > > arrows on them, that way you can remove the tape if you don't > like > > > it. > > > > > > Happy cubing, > > > Chris > > > > > > P.S. I didn't even mention anything about blindfolded > > supercubing, > > > but I have to say it is awesome! The best I've gotten so far is > > all > > > the corners and edges solved and the centers all flipped > correctly > > > except for one flipped twice. If you like blindfolded cubing, > > then > > > try blindfolded supercubing, it is much more intense and in my > > > opinion a lot more fun. > > > > I've only tried blindfold 3x3x3 supercubing so far - I'm going to > > try 4x4x4 after I get 3+3+4+5 done. 3x3x3 isn't really so difficult > > as almost all the moves I use in my normal method preserve the > > centre orientation (edge 3-cycles and twisting 3 corners don't but > > if I do the inverse of the edge 3-cycle twice that does and it has > > the same effect (in the usual group) as the intended 3-cycle). > Thus, > > blindfold supercubing can be done fairly easily by just correcting > > all the centres at the start or at the end. 4x4x4 is more > > interesting. I'd need to paint my cube first and use a different > > labelling for my centers (as currently, of course, I don't > > distinguish centers of the same colour). > > In BCFSSS, and even in BCFTSS, each algorithm comes with a > > description of its effect on the centres, so that if learned in > full > > it can be used as a supercubing system. > > > > In some sense, the 3x3x3 supergroup isn't really a supergroup. > > Rather the usual group is isomorphic to a quotient group (instead > of > > a subgroup) of the larger group.

Hmm ... Those are all strategies for speedsolving the supercube if i get it correct? Chris, what is ur strategy for solving in as few moves as possible? --Per K-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Here are also some strategies for supercubing that I have found > useful. I'm still tweaking my method, but I have found this > strategy to be good enough to keep. > > When solving and I am allowed to inspect the cube I try to find the > best way to solve the cross and also orient the first five centers > at the same time. In the 15 seconds it is often not possible to > plan the whole cross, so I try to plan orienting correctly the > center of the first layer and placing at least 2 edges, while also > orienting their centers. While I am performing the moves to solve > those first two edges with their centers I am looking ahead on the > other centers and edges and I try to place them after the first two > so that their centers are oriented correctly. > > At this point you can solve the F2L normally, only be very careful > with empty slot algorithms, as they tend to flip the centers of the > side faces or the first layer. > > Once I've finished the F2L there is a fairly decent chance that I > have flipped at least one center in the middle, though this doesn't > always happen. I then solve the LL normally, OLL and PLL. The OLLs > don't always flip centers in the middle but sometimes they do. The > PLL tend to flip the centers, so start to go through your algs and > see how they do, so you can predict the outcome of the center flips > after you have finished the PLL. While you are performing the PLL, > look ahead and judge how all the centers will be oriented. If you > solve the F2L carefully, and try to avoid empty slot cases and any > other cases that flip centers, then it is most likely that you only > have two centers to flip correctly. At this point perform the > center flip alg as fast as you can :) It also happens fairly often > that you don't have to flip centers in the end, if you can take > advantage of knowing how your PLLs flip centers. Say my permutation > case is an edge 3 cycle, and I know that I have flipped one of the > side (F2L) centers twice. If I notice that the U center is also > flipped twice I can turn the top layer so that the side center and > the U center line up in such a way that performing the edge 3 cycle > (which flips two adjacent centers twice) will solve both centers as > well. > > For solving with no inspection the strategy stays the same except > for the F2L. First solve the cross as fast as possible (just like > in a normal 3x3x3 no inspection solve), but make sure you solve the > pieces around the first layer center correctly. On inserting the > last edge, first line it up with its center and then move it to the > U layer (I solve cross on bottom), so that a double turn will return > it to the first layer and also have the center flipped correctly. > Now use the empty slot created on the D layer by your missing cross > piece to flip the other side face centers. So for example say my > last cross piece is on the R face, and I have it lined up with the > center such that an R2 move will solve the edge into the cross and > line up the center correctly. To flip the other centers just do the > move d then R, R', or R2 to flip the F face center (now moved to the > R face) correctly. After flipping the center do d again and now the > L face center ends up on the R face, turn the R face so that the > center lines up, do d again, etc. > > This saves time from trying to solve the cross so that all the cross > pieces solve, and the first 5 centers solve as well. > > I'm still debating whether or not it would be faster after > completing the OLL to correctly orient the U layer center and then > use corner and edge cycles that don't affect the center to return > the U layer pieces to their correct spots, or to just use a PLL alg, > then flip two centers at the end. I assume if you were to get very > serious about supercubing, that you would do the first and just have > lots of specialized algs for each U layer case. > > Heh heh so yeah, that was a long post. But there are the strategies > I use for speed supercubing. > > Chris > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Per Kristen > Fredlund" <aspiring_to_love@y...> wrote: > > Hey! > > > > Yes let's all start supercubing :D > > > > Well, my strategy for speedsupercubing is first normal solve, then > > orient all the centers (3,4 or 5 algs that are all very fast to > > perform). But when i solve wrt number of moves it's a different > > story. It's difficult to describe in detail how that is done. But > > here are some clues : > > > > 1: Solve first layer edges while also orienting 5 of the > facecenters, > > the facecenter of first layer and also all adjacent faces to that > > layer. (eg orient U,F,R,B and L facecenters, where U is ur first > > layer to solve) > > > > 2: Solve 3 middle layer edges while trying to solve "cheaply" some > of > > first layer corners. (avoid difficult cases for step 3+4) > > > > 3: Solve remaining edges such that last facecenter is oriented > > correctly. > > > > 4: Apply some 3 cycles on remaining corners and it's done :-) > > > > For each of the steps try to "get more than u are bargaining for", > > and also try to make ur remaining steps easier. This is where u > can > > save lots of moves with more practice :-) > > > > I'm down to best average of about 53 moves for supercubing. > > > > --cubix-- > > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, GameOfDeath2 > > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw > > > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > > > Hey everyone, I've recently gotten very into supercubing of > all > > > > sizes of cubes (3x3x3 through 5x5x5) and I wanted to post a > > > message > > > > about it to try to get others into this! At first I wasn't > > > > especially fond of supercubing, nothing about it interested me > > > > really. However recently since I started thinking about the > > > > supercube on my own, and how that would change the solving > > > strategy, > > > > I got really into it. Plus you can check out Per Kristen > > > Fredlund's > > > > posts about some of the theory and especially the center flip > > > > algorithm list, which is very helpful! Of course it's a > little > > > > weird at first because all the times you are used to for each > > size > > > > are way too fast for your supercube goals, but after some > > practice > > > > it is a lot of fun. You start to really develop a feel for > how > > > the > > > > larger cubes work when you supercube them. One thing that > > > surprised > > > > me is that solving the centers "incorrectly" does NOT cause > the > > > > 4x4x4 orientation parity, it still occurs on a super 4x4x4. > You > > > can > > > > have the centers solved according to definition but still > > > encounter > > > > the orientation parity. So aaaaaaaanyway Mr. Fredlund issued > a > > > > challenge on the 3x3x3 super cube average list for people to > pick > > > up > > > > supercubing, and I do the same! Let's get some competition > going > > > on > > > > the supercube lists. > > > > > > > > Think about it, we're only solving half the problem when we > > > > speedcube, solving with the center orientation mattering only > > > makes > > > > it MORE of a puzzle. You have to work harder during the F2L, > > > change > > > > some of your LL algorithms and strategies, so in my opinion it > is > > > > more fun! Not to mention supercubing with no inspection! I > use > > a > > > > completely different strategy for my no inspection solves > during > > > the > > > > F2L than for my normal averages. For the normal 3x3x3 you can > > use > > > > the same strategy for both, but it doesn't quite work on the > > super > > > > cube. I mean come on, how cool is that? :) > > > > > > > > Give it a try! It may seem weird at first, I thought so, but > > once > > > > you try it a few times you get hooked! > > > > > > > > So from me and Mr. Fredlund, we challenge other speedcubers to > > try > > > > supercubing and see what you think :) It is actually a lot of > > > fun, > > > > and I really do recommend just trying it once. Just to try it > > you > > > > can place some scotch tape over the centers of your 3x3x3 and > > draw > > > > arrows on them, that way you can remove the tape if you don't > > like > > > > it. > > > > > > > > Happy cubing, > > > > Chris > > > > > > > > P.S. I didn't even mention anything about blindfolded > > > supercubing, > > > > but I have to say it is awesome! The best I've gotten so far > is > > > all > > > > the corners and edges solved and the centers all flipped > > correctly > > > > except for one flipped twice. If you like blindfolded cubing, > > > then > > > > try blindfolded supercubing, it is much more intense and in my > > > > opinion a lot more fun. > > > > > > I've only tried blindfold 3x3x3 supercubing so far - I'm going > to > > > try 4x4x4 after I get 3+3+4+5 done. 3x3x3 isn't really so > difficult > > > as almost all the moves I use in my normal method preserve the > > > centre orientation (edge 3-cycles and twisting 3 corners don't > but > > > if I do the inverse of the edge 3-cycle twice that does and it > has > > > the same effect (in the usual group) as the intended 3-cycle). > > Thus, > > > blindfold supercubing can be done fairly easily by just > correcting > > > all the centres at the start or at the end. 4x4x4 is more > > > interesting. I'd need to paint my cube first and use a different > > > labelling for my centers (as currently, of course, I don't > > > distinguish centers of the same colour). > > > In BCFSSS, and even in BCFTSS, each algorithm comes with a > > > description of its effect on the centres, so that if learned in > > full > > > it can be used as a supercubing system. > > > > > > In some sense, the 3x3x3 supergroup isn't really a supergroup. > > > Rather the usual group is isomorphic to a quotient group > (instead > > of > > > a subgroup) of the larger group.

yes, its just like the 2x2. i once took apart a 2x2 and had to take so much plastic off that it was unstable. better just get another one if it takes too long. --- Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@...> wrote: > Well, all I know is that regular 2x2s can be a pain > to > put back together...so...good luck with that! > --- Adrian <fatansn2@...> wrote: > > My brother broke my homer simpson head rubik's > cube, > > and I can't figure out how to put it back > together. > > Could anyone tell me? Thanks! > > > > Adrian > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > > removed] > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. > Try it! > http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/ > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > ===== <ps> __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

eyerz ppl, newaiz, i wanted 2 no like sum lubricantz 4 da rubikz kube n similar things......kuz i haf tried many different typez of thingz 2 make a reg. cube in2 an easier turnin one, here is a list: Silicone Spray Oil Bicycle Grease Bicycle Spray Bicycle Lube Silicone Lube Cube Lube WD-40 Lotion (my lil bro did dat, lol, it actually worked, but it is messy) Baby Oil (look up) Water (look up) Cooking Oil (look up) n a hole mess of weird stuff........if ne1 triez sumthing dat reeal good otha dan silicone spray oil or cube lube, den plz tell me, thx~ ~Joseph

I'd help, but I don't speak l33t. Can you write that message again in English? --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "azinj05ieipih" <azinj05ieipih@y...> wrote: > eyerz ppl, newaiz, i wanted 2 no like sum lubricantz 4 da rubikz kube > n similar things......kuz i haf tried many different typez of thingz > 2 make a reg. cube in2 an easier turnin one, here is a list: > > Silicone Spray Oil > Bicycle Grease > Bicycle Spray > Bicycle Lube > Silicone Lube > Cube Lube > WD-40 > Lotion (my lil bro did dat, lol, it actually worked, but it is messy) > Baby Oil (look up) > Water (look up) > Cooking Oil (look up) > n a hole mess of weird stuff........if ne1 triez sumthing dat reeal > good otha dan silicone spray oil or cube lube, den plz tell me, thx~ > > ~Joseph

Oh, okay dude, sorry- I wanted to know some lubricants or grease or similar items for the Rubik's Cube and similar puzzles, because I have tried many types of things to lube my cube. Here are some of the things that my brother and I tried: Silicone Spray Oil > Bicycle Grease > Bicycle Spray > Bicycle Lube > Silicone Lube > Cube Lube > WD-40 > Lotion (Brother did it) > Baby Oil (look up) > Water (look up) > Cooking Oil (look up) > and some other stuff > The best things that I tried that showed good results are: Silicone Oil Spray and Cube Lube Thanks~ > > ~Joseph Michael Atkinson <unipsycho6@...> wrote: I'd help, but I don't speak l33t. Can you write that message again in English? --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "azinj05ieipih" <azinj05ieipih@y...> wrote: > eyerz ppl, newaiz, i wanted 2 no like sum lubricantz 4 da rubikz kube > n similar things......kuz i haf tried many different typez of thingz > 2 make a reg. cube in2 an easier turnin one, here is a list: > > Silicone Spray Oil > Bicycle Grease > Bicycle Spray > Bicycle Lube > Silicone Lube > Cube Lube > WD-40 > Lotion (my lil bro did dat, lol, it actually worked, but it is messy) > Baby Oil (look up) > Water (look up) > Cooking Oil (look up) > n a hole mess of weird stuff........if ne1 triez sumthing dat reeal > good otha dan silicone spray oil or cube lube, den plz tell me, thx~ > > ~Joseph Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I'm been contemplating getting a mini comp similar to the Caltech comp going here in Montreal canada I have many resourses at my disposible even a free place too hold it if nessesary . My biggest concern would be who would actually come? I'm not sure how many canadians would come cause it's hard too judge the amount of cubers here...would Eastern Americans come up? so would come?

The stuff I use most and love is "Napa CRC Heavy Duty Silicon Multi- Use Lubricant" from an autoparts store. Comes in a red bottle. I had a similar silicone spray in a blue can from napa, but it was terrible. Go with the red can, that's my $.02USD Daniel

Hi Joseph, I use the non-oil based silcone lubricant from 3M. It works well. The best lube is graphite, but it doesn't stay in the cube. David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Joseph Liao <azinj05ieipih@y...> wrote: > Oh, okay dude, sorry- > > I wanted to know some lubricants or grease or similar items for the Rubik's Cube and similar puzzles, because I have tried many types of things to lube my cube. > > Here are some of the things that my brother and I tried: > > Silicone Spray Oil > > Bicycle Grease > > Bicycle Spray > > Bicycle Lube > > Silicone Lube > > Cube Lube > > WD-40 > > Lotion (Brother did it) > > Baby Oil (look up) > > Water (look up) > > Cooking Oil (look up) > > and some other stuff > > The best things that I tried that showed good results are: > > Silicone Oil Spray > and Cube Lube > > Thanks~ > > > > ~Joseph >

we wood, but den agin, dere r dem airplane feez rubikscanada <rubikscanada@...> wrote:I'm been contemplating getting a mini comp similar to the Caltech comp going here in Montreal canada I have many resourses at my disposible even a free place too hold it if nessesary . My biggest concern would be who would actually come? I'm not sure how many canadians would come cause it's hard too judge the amount of cubers here...would Eastern Americans come up? so would come? Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

alrite, thanks dude ~joseph d_j_salvia <d_j_salvia@...> wrote: Hi Joseph, I use the non-oil based silcone lubricant from 3M. It works well. The best lube is graphite, but it doesn't stay in the cube. David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Joseph Liao <azinj05ieipih@y...> wrote: > Oh, okay dude, sorry- > > I wanted to know some lubricants or grease or similar items for the Rubik's Cube and similar puzzles, because I have tried many types of things to lube my cube. > > Here are some of the things that my brother and I tried: > > Silicone Spray Oil > > Bicycle Grease > > Bicycle Spray > > Bicycle Lube > > Silicone Lube > > Cube Lube > > WD-40 > > Lotion (Brother did it) > > Baby Oil (look up) > > Water (look up) > > Cooking Oil (look up) > > and some other stuff > > The best things that I tried that showed good results are: > > Silicone Oil Spray > and Cube Lube > > Thanks~ > > > > ~Joseph > --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I personally like SNAP Silicone Spray. That's the only silicone spray you can buy around here, and it works great, but I've heard some people say that there are other better brands. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "azinj05ieipih" <azinj05ieipih@y...> wrote: > eyerz ppl, newaiz, i wanted 2 no like sum lubricantz 4 da rubikz kube > n similar things......kuz i haf tried many different typez of thingz > 2 make a reg. cube in2 an easier turnin one, here is a list: > > Silicone Spray Oil > Bicycle Grease > Bicycle Spray > Bicycle Lube > Silicone Lube > Cube Lube > WD-40 > Lotion (my lil bro did dat, lol, it actually worked, but it is messy) > Baby Oil (look up) > Water (look up) > Cooking Oil (look up) > n a hole mess of weird stuff........if ne1 triez sumthing dat reeal > good otha dan silicone spray oil or cube lube, den plz tell me, thx~ > > ~Joseph

Ok, so I get an invite to go to a local card shop by a good friend who claims to have taken an interest in cubing....he says he has some good friends who are into it and they all wanna compete. Well guess what, it was all a very intricate scheme that was meant to make fun of how seriously I take my hobby of cubing. Now here's my confusion: 1. when your subject follows a pattern youve surmised is plausible due to certain conditions...why is it that the subject is projected with the ochestrator's stupidity? Whats intelligent and clever about setting someone up and having them act in a way that makes logical sense? and... 2.Why the hell would a good friend do this to me? Oh well, I played cards and beat a couple of people and showed a few people my cubing skill...all in all it was a fun night, without ignorant backstabbing friends ^_^ Im not angry, just confused... =K= P.S. anyone else have a similar experience? __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

me +3 to the guest list (of course, it would depend on seeing the details etc..) --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "rubikscanada" <rubikscanada@y...> wrote: > I'm been contemplating getting a mini comp similar to the Caltech > comp going here in Montreal canada > > I have many resourses at my disposible even a free place too hold it > if nessesary . > My biggest concern would be who would actually come? > I'm not sure how many canadians would come cause it's hard too judge > the amount of cubers here...would Eastern Americans come up? > > so would come?

soundz nice, thx dude, i think dis is wut dan nightz use for his cube also ~joseph Michael Atkinson <unipsycho6@...> wrote: I personally like SNAP Silicone Spray. That's the only silicone spray you can buy around here, and it works great, but I've heard some people say that there are other better brands. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "azinj05ieipih" <azinj05ieipih@y...> wrote: > eyerz ppl, newaiz, i wanted 2 no like sum lubricantz 4 da rubikz kube > n similar things......kuz i haf tried many different typez of thingz > 2 make a reg. cube in2 an easier turnin one, here is a list: > > Silicone Spray Oil > Bicycle Grease > Bicycle Spray > Bicycle Lube > Silicone Lube > Cube Lube > WD-40 > Lotion (my lil bro did dat, lol, it actually worked, but it is messy) > Baby Oil (look up) > Water (look up) > Cooking Oil (look up) > n a hole mess of weird stuff........if ne1 triez sumthing dat reeal > good otha dan silicone spray oil or cube lube, den plz tell me, thx~ > > ~Joseph --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Has anyone here bought one of those speedstack timers ? Are they worth the money. Are they reliable, durable ?

Hey everyone. I was wondering if anyone else has gotten into cupstacking (http://www.speedstacks.com)? I find it parallels speedcubing in many aspects. Anyone else do this? Perhaps some friendly competition among us cup stackers could help us better our times? Am I the only weird guy who does this? Looking for others who share the same non-cube hobby, Chris

I want to, but my parents say it's dumb and won't let me buy any of the special cups. And normal cups don't work very well. Also, I'm saving money right now to go to a Unicycle Competition. So I can't really spend any money right now. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey everyone. I was wondering if anyone else has gotten into > cupstacking (http://www.speedstacks.com)? I find it parallels > speedcubing in many aspects. Anyone else do this? Perhaps some > friendly competition among us cup stackers could help us better our > times? Am I the only weird guy who does this? > > Looking for others who share the same non-cube hobby, > Chris

Thanks everybody for all the kudos. :D The competition was a great experience for me. It was nice meeting Lars, Kenneth, David, and all other cubists at the competition. My times actually came out better than I thought they were going to be. Much thanks go to Tyson and others for organizing the competition. It was an awesome cubing condition, with good lighting, cola, close bathroom and everything. lol. I think you guys really took good control. I'd definitely like more of these local competitions. And next time, maybe we can make things official. Thanks again to all, I'm looking forward to the Spring Term Competition. Macky p.s. Thanks to Jessica for her method. Messages 8782-8783 are lol. :D

thats wierd, parents and sports that better concentration usually go together...the fact that they would keep you from getting something because THEY view it as stupid is in itself rather dumb... =K= --- Michael Atkinson <unipsycho6@...> wrote: > I want to, but my parents say it's dumb and won't > let me buy any of > the special cups. And normal cups don't work very > well. > Also, I'm saving money right now to go to a Unicycle > Competition. So > I can't really spend any money right now. > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > cmhardw > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > Hey everyone. I was wondering if anyone else has > gotten into > > cupstacking (http://www.speedstacks.com)? I find > it parallels > > speedcubing in many aspects. Anyone else do this? > Perhaps some > > friendly competition among us cup stackers could > help us better our > > times? Am I the only weird guy who does this? > > > > Looking for others who share the same non-cube > hobby, > > Chris > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

I would DEFINATELY be very interested. As long as it doesn't conflict with my teaching schedule (or Leafs playoffs) I would be there - so anytime in the summer is beauty. It would be awesome to convene the Canadian cubers. At RWC I met tons of great people from all over the world but ironically only a few Canadians (though several were there - I just didn't meet them). It's been a couple of years since I was last in Montreal and this would be a perfect 'excuse' for another roadtrip to a great and fun city. Hopefully there would be several categories offered - 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, blindfold... Please keep me informed of any developments Rob robbutler@... P.S. - if any of the cubers in the Toronto area want to get together sometime for a cube day... --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "rubikscanada" <rubikscanada@y...> wrote: > I'm been contemplating getting a mini comp similar to the Caltech > comp going here in Montreal canada > > I have many resourses at my disposible even a free place too hold it > if nessesary . > My biggest concern would be who would actually come? > I'm not sure how many canadians would come cause it's hard too judge > the amount of cubers here...would Eastern Americans come up? > > so would come?

yeah, they are awesome! Very sensitive, too. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Wayne" <mylib_2000@y...> wrote: > Has anyone here bought one of those speedstack timers ? Are they > worth the money. Are they reliable, durable ?

My name is Taka. Nice to read you guys! And this is the first time to post to this e-group. I am Japanese, and I am going to Australia, Brisbane, to study English next week Fri 13th Feb. And I wanna know there are any Aussie speed cubists in this e-group or not. Because I don't hear the Aussie speed cubists' news in Japan. So I don't have any informations about Rubik's Cube in Australia. Btw, my average of 10 record is 18.27, but I have been so busy in these days that I was not able to practice so much. I am a student and I have many exams now. So that I was not able to practice so much. Anyway, hoping you are not bored by my message. Thanks and have a nice Cubing! taka Taka's Cube Room http://dosanko-cubist.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ takahito_domon@...

Sad to say for someone in their 40's but my wife bought me some cups for Xmas. Have practised a bit with a best time of 16.09 secs for the full cycle. Seems you are better than me at this too Chris! (I saw on ur website that u had a time of 11 secs!). ----- Original Message ----- From: cmhardw To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2004 3:23 AM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Cup stacking Hey everyone. I was wondering if anyone else has gotten into cupstacking (http://www.speedstacks.com)? I find it parallels speedcubing in many aspects. Anyone else do this? Perhaps some friendly competition among us cup stackers could help us better our times? Am I the only weird guy who does this? Looking for others who share the same non-cube hobby, Chris ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I'd have to talk to some of my cubing friends, but I would probably come if able...What time of the year would this be happening? --- rubikscanada <rubikscanada@...> wrote: > I'm been contemplating getting a mini comp similar > to the Caltech > comp going here in Montreal canada > > I have many resourses at my disposible even a free > place too hold it > if nessesary . > My biggest concern would be who would actually come? > I'm not sure how many canadians would come cause > it's hard too judge > the amount of cubers here...would Eastern Americans > come up? > > so would come? > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

I bought some cups together with my stackmat. Haven't practiced a lot (needs more space than I usually have, need to tidy up my room ;- )) and my best times were like 15.xx I think. Create a category on speedcubing.com and I'll practice/post, too ;-) Cheers! Stefan --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey everyone. I was wondering if anyone else has gotten into > cupstacking (http://www.speedstacks.com)? I find it parallels > speedcubing in many aspects. Anyone else do this? Perhaps some > friendly competition among us cup stackers could help us better our > times? Am I the only weird guy who does this? > > Looking for others who share the same non-cube hobby, > Chris

> 2.Why the hell would a good friend do this to me? Have you talked to him afterwards? mybe somthing got messed up.. ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!

Apparently they had rented out a back room and I stayed in the front room and we never crossed paths...damn wierd luck eh? --- con-boy13@... wrote: > > > 2.Why the hell would a good friend do this to me? > > Have you talked to him afterwards? mybe somthing got > messed up.. > > ________________________________________________________________ > The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno > SpeedBand! > Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! > Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up > today! > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

There are days when Yahoo groups works just fine. However at some points in time when I have to reload, I click on the groups category, and yahoo says it is unable to process my request. Once this happens, I am unable to get back on. Restarting and ridding myself of cookies doesn't work. Is Yahoo just getting bogged down. And now that I'm finally on, the chat doesn't seem to work. Has anybody else had these problems? Fox

I haven't had those problems here but I have elsewhere, and discovered the fault was with the browser. DJ --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "qwerty1110" <qwerty1110@h...> wrote: > There are days when Yahoo groups works just fine. However at some > points in time when I have to reload, I click on the groups > category, and yahoo says it is unable to process my request. Once > this happens, I am unable to get back on. Restarting and ridding > myself of cookies doesn't work. Is Yahoo just getting bogged down. > And now that I'm finally on, the chat doesn't seem to work. > > Has anybody else had these problems? > > Fox

I am having some trouble with it too, but I am still trying. Has anyone thought about setting up an IRC channel? Doug

I haven't been able to get into chat for the past couple of days. jon --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Doug <dougreed@h...> wrote: > I am having some trouble with it too, but I am still trying. Has anyone > thought about setting up an IRC channel? > > Doug

I hate to bring the discussion of viruses back, but lately, I've been getting an aweful lot of e-mails with viruses attached that claim to be coming from people I know from this group (doesn't mean it's actually from them, though - I know)... Doing a reverse lookup on the IP address in the headers, though, I can tell they're coming from 14.107.33.65.cfl.rr.com. If that is or might be you, I'd suggest making sure your virus software is up to date and checking your computer for any potential problems. Thanks, - Grant

Interesting that you brought this up. I actually just got an e-mail a few moments ago, that claims to be from you (Grant). But I know it's not. It has a virus attached to it. I these viruses basically, deceive the reviever into thinking it was from one person while it was probably from another. So someone out there with the virus has both our e-mail addresses in his/her address book, where the virus program found it. -Doug Li --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Grant Tregay" <Grant@T...> wrote: > I hate to bring the discussion of viruses back, but lately, I've been > getting an aweful lot of e-mails with viruses attached that claim to > be coming from people I know from this group (doesn't mean it's > actually from them, though - I know)... Doing a reverse lookup on the > IP address in the headers, though, I can tell they're coming from > 14.107.33.65.cfl.rr.com. If that is or might be you, I'd suggest > making sure your virus software is up to date and checking your > computer for any potential problems. > > Thanks, > > - Grant

Hey all, I have been trying my hand at solving big cubes (mostly 7x7x7) at OinkleBurger.com lately, and I was just wondering, how can I finish the last two centers? I am solving pretty much the same way I solve the 5x5x5. I start by solving four centers (U, D, L, and F), leaving two (B and R) unsolved, and I guess I just need an alg(s) to replace center cubies or some tips on doing it intuitively. On a side note, I beat my PB just now with a time of 38.00 seconds, right after getting a semi-lucky time of 32.41s two days ago. Oddly enough, these are the only two times I have gotten that were sub 40. I am psyched =) Doug

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, nascarjon2001 <no_reply@y...> wrote: > I haven't been able to get into chat for the past couple of days. > > > jon > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Doug <dougreed@h...> > wrote: > > I am having some trouble with it too, but I am still trying. Has > anyone > > thought about setting up an IRC channel? > > > > Doug If your having problems getting into the chat, then try gettin on through yahoo messenger. That might fix your problem....it works for me. -Heath

I was the 'accused' last time for this whole virus problem, so you can understand why I'd be worried about it maybe even more so than everyone else. The thing is, after that whole thing months back I erased all the people out of my address book (and didn't add anyone else since then) I looked in my address book just now, and there are people added! at least a dozen people or more are in my address book including grant..and doug. I just cleaned out my address book again. I've been getting a lot of wierd emails from people I don't recognize so I don't bother opening them out of fear. How do you check your own IP address? I'm going to run a scan for viruses and hopefully I find nothing. Take care everyone! -Richard --- Grant Tregay <Grant@...> wrote: > I hate to bring the discussion of viruses back, but > lately, I've been > getting an aweful lot of e-mails with viruses > attached that claim to > be coming from people I know from this group > (doesn't mean it's > actually from them, though - I know)... Doing a > reverse lookup on the > IP address in the headers, though, I can tell > they're coming from > 14.107.33.65.cfl.rr.com. If that is or might be > you, I'd suggest > making sure your virus software is up to date and > checking your > computer for any potential problems. > > Thanks, > > - Grant > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

Yeah, I've been wondering about this. I'm getting about 5-10 messages a day that all have attatchments, I opened one (not the attatchemt) and recognized a few names from this group. Anyway, these all go to my 'Bulk' email box (those who actually use the yahoo.com email know what I'm talking about), but today, 2 of 'em made it into my real inbox... I'm getting a little worried b/c of the quantities I get these things in. How many of these "emails" have you guys been getting? ferret --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > I was the 'accused' last time for this whole virus > problem, so you can understand why I'd be worried > about it maybe even more so than everyone else. The > thing is, after that whole thing months back I erased > all the people out of my address book (and didn't add > anyone else since then) I looked in my address book > just now, and there are people added! at least a > dozen people or more are in my address book including > grant..and doug. I just cleaned out my address book > again. > > I've been getting a lot of wierd emails from people I > don't recognize so I don't bother opening them out of > fear. How do you check your own IP address? I'm > going to run a scan for viruses and hopefully I find > nothing. Take care everyone! > > -Richard > > --- Grant Tregay <Grant@T...> wrote: > > I hate to bring the discussion of viruses back, but > > lately, I've been > > getting an aweful lot of e-mails with viruses > > attached that claim to > > be coming from people I know from this group > > (doesn't mean it's > > actually from them, though - I know)... Doing a > > reverse lookup on the > > IP address in the headers, though, I can tell > > they're coming from > > 14.107.33.65.cfl.rr.com. If that is or might be > > you, I'd suggest > > making sure your virus software is up to date and > > checking your > > computer for any potential problems. > > > > Thanks, > > > > - Grant > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! > http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

I can't give a number, but most of my non-mailinglist email is this kind of crap. Mozilla Thunderbird has a pretty good junk email filter (once it is "trained", anyway) so most of it ends up in my Junk folder. Doug

You can check your IP address by opening a command prompt (Start>Run>cmd in WinXP, >command in Win9x) then typing in "ipconfig." CMG -----Original Message----- From: Richard Patterson [mailto:richy_jr_2000@...] Sent: Monday, February 02, 2004 12:19 AM To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Speed cubing group] Viruses revisited I was the 'accused' last time for this whole virus problem, so you can understand why I'd be worried about it maybe even more so than everyone else. The thing is, after that whole thing months back I erased all the people out of my address book (and didn't add anyone else since then) I looked in my address book just now, and there are people added! at least a dozen people or more are in my address book including grant..and doug. I just cleaned out my address book again. I've been getting a lot of wierd emails from people I don't recognize so I don't bother opening them out of fear. How do you check your own IP address? I'm going to run a scan for viruses and hopefully I find nothing. Take care everyone! -Richard --- Grant Tregay <Grant@...> wrote: > I hate to bring the discussion of viruses back, but > lately, I've been > getting an aweful lot of e-mails with viruses > attached that claim to > be coming from people I know from this group > (doesn't mean it's > actually from them, though - I know)... Doing a > reverse lookup on the > IP address in the headers, though, I can tell > they're coming from > 14.107.33.65.cfl.rr.com. If that is or might be > you, I'd suggest > making sure your virus software is up to date and > checking your > computer for any potential problems. > > Thanks, > > - Grant > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT click here <http://rd.yahoo.com/SIG=12cfm5is3/M=267637.4116732.5333197.1261774/D=eg roupweb/S=1705297356:HM/EXP=1075785550/A=1945638/R=0/*http://www.netflix .com/Default?mqso=60178383&partid=4116732> <http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=267637.4116732.5333197.1261774/D=egrou pmail/S=:HM/A=1945638/rand=779020763> _____ Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <mailto:speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsub scribe> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Richard Patterson wrote: >How do you check your own IP address? > > http://www.whatismyip.com is probably the easiest way. Discovered it today doing some VNC troubleshooting ;) Doug >-Richard > > >

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Doug <dougreed@h...> wrote: > Hey all, I have been trying my hand at solving big cubes (mostly 7x7x7) > at OinkleBurger.com lately, and I was just wondering, how can I finish > the last two centers? I am solving pretty much the same way I solve the > 5x5x5. I start by solving four centers (U, D, L, and F), leaving two (B > and R) unsolved, and I guess I just need an alg(s) to replace center > cubies or some tips on doing it intuitively. > > On a side note, I beat my PB just now with a time of 38.00 seconds, > right after getting a semi-lucky time of 32.41s two days ago. Oddly > enough, these are the only two times I have gotten that were sub 40. I > am psyched =) > > Doug If you can get 38 seconds you don't need any help! That's a fantastic time.

I think any type of center cubie can easily be 3-cycled. Here's an example: - Let OinkleBurger display a solved 7x7. - Choose any center sticker of the blue (back) side. - Drag that sticker up, right, down, left. - Now six stickers (one on each face of the cube) will be changed, the rest of the cube is not. - Turn the blue face. - Reverse the first part turns, i.e. drag the sticker at the *old* position right, up, left, down. Let me know if I confused you ;-) It may look like a 2-swap of center pieces, but actually it's a 3- cycle (two blue stickers are involved). Stefan

> - Turn the blue face. Oh, and turn it back at the end ;-) Stefan

Some simple "Cube-Math" follows ;-) What i want to explain is the maths behind constructing a 3-cycle. Those who already know may hit the Back-button of the browser :D First step is to find a way to change some part of the cube. On a 3x3x3 cube u want usually to have that change on a single layer or 2 adjacent layers (say top and middle layer). Now lets say that the alg to achieve this is : A And say u can rotate the single layer where the change occured with the alg : B An easy example of this is to start from a solved 3x3x3 cube, then apply : R'DR This affects one corner of the U-layer of the cube. So R'DR = A in this case. One can also easily rotate the U-layer with for instance : U So in this case U = B. Now back to making the 3-cycle which is what we try to do :D We have already applied R'DRU (=AB) to the cube. A 3 cycle is now made by applying A' (inverse of A) and B' (inverse of B). In our case we apply R'D'R and U'. So the whole sequence of moves will be : R'DRUR'D'RU' (=ABA'B'). What we have actually done is to make a commutator (in group theoretical terms). What we made was a corner 3- cycle since A changed one corner on the U-layer. Now, how can we construct a 3-cycle on the edges? Replace A with the following alg : R'UsF And let B=U like before. To make up our commutator (ABA'B') we have to add a sequence like this: UF'U'sRU' (=BA'B') The complete 3-cycle alg is thus like this : R'UsFUF'U'RU'. Another way to denote a commutator is like this : [A,B] (=ABA'B') For our last 3-cycle on edges we can write instead : [R'UsF,U] Quite a nice way to write 10 moves on the cube :D Now instead of only changing a single cubicle (a corner or an edge) we can of course change a "block" 2x1, an edge-corner pair. Let A=R'UF and B=U. Now ABA'B'=[R'UF,U]=R'UFUF'U'RU'. Again we got a 3- cycle, strange enough! Hehe ... Next i will adopt some notation from larger cubes than 3x3x3 to explore other possibleways of making 3-cycles. Let A=R'DR The same we had for the first corner 3-cycle!!! Instead of having B=U now let B=(Uu) ie moving top 2 layers clockwise while bottom layer stays put. Notationally it seems that B is 3 moves but in reality it is 1 move only. ABA'B'=[A,B]=R'DR(Uu)R'D'R(U'u'). This can be rewritten like this : R'DRDB'DBD'. Again we have a 3-cycle on an edge-corner pair. For larger cubes we have much more variation in making 3-cycles like this. We can make corner 3-cycle, edge 3-cycle, facecenter 3-cycle and 3 cycles on "blocks" like 3x1, 2x2, 3x2, 2x2x2 and even 2x2x3. I leave it as an exercise to work that out. It is great fun and useful for making of certain kinds of pretty patterns and more ... Happy cycling :-P --Per K-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > I think any type of center cubie can easily be 3-cycled. Here's an > example: > > - Let OinkleBurger display a solved 7x7. > - Choose any center sticker of the blue (back) side. > - Drag that sticker up, right, down, left. > - Now six stickers (one on each face of the cube) will be changed, > the rest of the cube is not. > - Turn the blue face. > - Reverse the first part turns, i.e. drag the sticker at the *old* > position right, up, left, down. > > Let me know if I confused you ;-) > > It may look like a 2-swap of center pieces, but actually it's a 3- > cycle (two blue stickers are involved). > > Stefan

I Just wondered if here is someone from sweden who knows where to buy cubes here in sweden?

hmmmm. people who have tried to send me viruses: jnjpouille@..., peter@..., and while i am writing this, texasgrape@... i dont know any of these people, but mailerdaemon caught all of them. i havent had this problem in the past. --- Doug <dougreed@...> wrote: > Richard Patterson wrote: > > >How do you check your own IP address? > > > > > http://www.whatismyip.com is probably the easiest > way. Discovered it > today doing some VNC troubleshooting ;) > > Doug > > >-Richard > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/

Thanks a lot for all the help, with some fiddling I was able to figure out the general idea behind the 3-cycle and just solve dall of the centers on the 7x7x7. Now for the edges... I shouldnt have any problem, just time consuming :-\ Doug Stefan Pochmann wrote: >I think any type of center cubie can easily be 3-cycled. Here's an >example: > >- Let OinkleBurger display a solved 7x7. >- Choose any center sticker of the blue (back) side. >- Drag that sticker up, right, down, left. >- Now six stickers (one on each face of the cube) will be changed, >the rest of the cube is not. >- Turn the blue face. >- Reverse the first part turns, i.e. drag the sticker at the *old* >position right, up, left, down. > >Let me know if I confused you ;-) > >It may look like a 2-swap of center pieces, but actually it's a 3- >cycle (two blue stickers are involved). > >Stefan > > > > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > >To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > >

Ok, sorry about all the emails, but just for a quick update, I successfully solved the 7x7x7 and I am now moving on to a 15x15x15... =D Doug

Hi everyone. I tried solving the Rubik's cube in front of a mirror. It is amazingly difficult. So far my best time is 1 min and 6 sec. After doing it for a while I felt very sick, (weird its like I am seasick) so be careful. Now that I am not in front of the mirror it is a little difficult to solve the cube normally. Give it a try, your head is just not used to it, I am sure after a little practice one could almost do it as quick as normal. -Kenneth ps I was experimenting with two mirrors tonight as I was brushing my teeth. I found that it was very difficult to brush your teeth with two mirrors. Very weird.

I have a 2x2 cube. I wanted to know how it was made so I have tried to dismount it and I have got it. Now I have a lot of pieces and I am not able to mount the cube. I get put all the pieces in its right place but I can do it with the last one. Can anyone help me?

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Doug <dougreed@h...> wrote: > Ok, sorry about all the emails, but just for a quick update, I > successfully solved the 7x7x7 and I am now moving on to a 15x15x15... =D > > Doug Good stuff. The centres are marginally more awkward for bigger cubes (mainly because you have to count) and so are the edges (mainly because the likelihood that you can pull neat tricks decreases as symmetry during building is harder to maintain). Here's a tip: after the 15x15x15 have another go at the 7x7x7. The squares will seem much larger and you will see things faster, so your time should improve.

redkbrandon <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: I found that it was very difficult to brush your teeth with two mirrors. Very weird. Yeah, I've never been able to do that too, but here is an advice: try with a toothbrush, instead of two mirrors. It should make the job a lot easier... F. --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail : votre e-mail personnel et gratuit qui vous suit partout ! Créez votre Yahoo! Mail [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "rubikaz" <rubikaz@y...> wrote: > I have a 2x2 cube. I wanted to know how it was made so I have tried > to dismount it and I have got it. Now I have a lot of pieces and I am > not able to mount the cube. I get put all the pieces in its right > place but I can do it with the last one. > > Can anyone help me? In the photos section of this eGroup there is a folder that is fix you 2x2x2 with photos showing you how. Here is the link: http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/lst?.dir= /Fix+your+2x2x2&.src=gr&.order=&.view=t&.done=http% 3a//briefcase.yahoo.com/

Hej jag heter Johan och jag har precis börjat att lära mig speedcubing! Jag bara undrar om här finns någon från Sverige som vet var man kan få tag i kuber här? Kan inte hitta det någonstans på nätet! MVH/Johan

Hej Johan. Tyvärr finns det ingen officiell återförsäljare av rubiks-prylar i Sverige. Det går dock att hitta piratkopior lite varstans (t.ex. på teknikmagasinet.se), men dessa hållerextremt dålig kvalitet och är en riktig plåga att vrida på, mer frustrerande än underhållande. De enda riktiga alternativ som finns är att beställa från rubiks.com, där det dock tilkommer en del frakt + 25% moms om man beställer för mer än ungefär 400:-. Det går att beställa riktigt bra kuber från Ton på http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/buy1.htm . Kuberna är dock för tillfället slut, så du får vänta eller höra med Ton när han får in fler. Kom dock ihåg att även bra kuber behöver en del förberedande för att bli riktigt bra, silikonspray är ett måste. /Gustav --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > Hej jag heter Johan och jag har precis börjat att lära mig > speedcubing! > Jag bara undrar om här finns någon från Sverige som vet var man kan > få tag i kuber här? > Kan inte hitta det någonstans på nätet! > MVH/Johan

A year ago it was impossible and I think it still is. That is, if you don´t mean those aweful things that are marketed as "cubes" and only frighten kids from further cubing. I would recommend you to contact Ton, TonBrennenboek@..., and ask for cubes with not glued middle caps. They are relatively cheap and easy to break in (if he still has them, nota bene). Within four days or so after ordering you will get them. R ----- Original Message ----- From: "jeppsson88" <cool_hamilton@...> To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, February 02, 2004 10:00 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Cube shop! > I Just wondered if here is someone from sweden who knows where to > buy cubes here in sweden? > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

Ok. Tack! Synd att det inte finns bra cuber att få tag i här i Sverige! På Ton's sida stod det om att man skulle justera skruvarna. Vad innebär det. Min nuvarande kub är ifrån 80 talet så den börjar bli ganska sliten. Men den har ju aldrig fått något underhåll heller. Man ska ju smörja sin kub med silikonspray. Vet du var man kan köpa sådant här i sverige och vilket märke är i så fall bäst? MVH/Johan ----- Original Message ----- From: Gustav Fredell To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 7:54 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? Hej Johan. Tyvärr finns det ingen officiell återförsäljare av rubiks-prylar i Sverige. Det går dock att hitta piratkopior lite varstans (t.ex. på teknikmagasinet.se), men dessa hållerextremt dålig kvalitet och är en riktig plåga att vrida på, mer frustrerande än underhållande. De enda riktiga alternativ som finns är att beställa från rubiks.com, där det dock tilkommer en del frakt + 25% moms om man beställer för mer än ungefär 400:-. Det går att beställa riktigt bra kuber från Ton på http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/buy1.htm . Kuberna är dock för tillfället slut, så du får vänta eller höra med Ton när han får in fler. Kom dock ihåg att även bra kuber behöver en del förberedande för att bli riktigt bra, silikonspray är ett måste. /Gustav --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > Hej jag heter Johan och jag har precis börjat att lära mig > speedcubing! > Jag bara undrar om här finns någon från Sverige som vet var man kan > få tag i kuber här? > Kan inte hitta det någonstans på nätet! > MVH/Johan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Ok! Tack! Jag ska kolla det! Den jag har är ifrån 80-talet så den börjar bli sliten. Skulle verkligen behöva en ny....... MVH/Johan ----- Original Message ----- From: Rune Wesström To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 7:47 PM Subject: Re: [Speed cubing group] Cube shop! A year ago it was impossible and I think it still is. That is, if you don´t mean those aweful things that are marketed as "cubes" and only frighten kids from further cubing. I would recommend you to contact Ton, TonBrennenboek@..., and ask for cubes with not glued middle caps. They are relatively cheap and easy to break in (if he still has them, nota bene). Within four days or so after ordering you will get them. R ----- Original Message ----- From: "jeppsson88" <cool_hamilton@...> To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, February 02, 2004 10:00 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Cube shop! > I Just wondered if here is someone from sweden who knows where to > buy cubes here in sweden? > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Silikonspray borde finnas i en mängd affärer, järnaffärer, bilprylsaffärer, bensinstationer m.m. Själv köper jag min silikon på Clas-Ohlson. Den heter CRC Silicone Spray och funkar bra, är dock den enda jag prövat. Att justera skruvarna innebär att man justerar hur 'hård' kuben skall vara. Det går inte att göra på alla kuber, t.ex. inte på kuberna från rubiks.com. Vad jag vet så gick det dock på de flesta kuberna på 80-talet så det kanske går på din också. Skruvarna sitter bakom centerbitarna på varje sida och för att komma åt dem får man pilla loss brickan som täcker över skruven. Denna bricka syns ofta inte p.g.a. att klisterlappen sitter över. Det går dock att få loss den, men inte alltid helt utan besvär. Se upp om du använder kniv, så att du inte förstör kuben för mycket och att du inte slinter och skär dig. Fullständiga instruktioner för att preparera en kub finns på http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/Speedcube/makinga.htm . Värt att notera är att vissa kuber går att få riktigt bra utan att fixa med skruvarna. Då gäller det dock att ha mer tur med att ha köpt en ovanligt bra kub. Det viktigaste är dock som sagt silikonet. På Tons sidan står allt om hur man skall använda (och inte använda) det. /Gustav --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Johan" <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > Ok. Tack! > Synd att det inte finns bra cuber att få tag i här i Sverige! > På Ton's sida stod det om att man skulle justera skruvarna. Vad innebär det. Min nuvarande kub är ifrån 80 talet så den börjar bli ganska sliten. Men den har ju aldrig fått något underhåll heller. Man ska ju smörja sin kub med silikonspray. Vet du var man kan köpa sådant här i sverige och vilket märke är i så fall bäst? > MVH/Johan > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Gustav Fredell > To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 7:54 PM > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > Hej Johan. > > Tyvärr finns det ingen officiell återförsäljare av rubiks-prylar i > Sverige. Det går dock att hitta piratkopior lite varstans (t.ex. på > teknikmagasinet.se), men dessa hållerextremt dålig kvalitet och är > en riktig plåga att vrida på, mer frustrerande än underhållande. > > De enda riktiga alternativ som finns är att beställa från > rubiks.com, där det dock tilkommer en del frakt + 25% moms om man > beställer för mer än ungefär 400:-. Det går att beställa riktigt bra > kuber från Ton på http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/buy1.htm . Kuberna > är dock för tillfället slut, så du får vänta eller höra med Ton när > han får in fler. Kom dock ihåg att även bra kuber behöver en del > förberedande för att bli riktigt bra, silikonspray är ett måste. > > /Gustav > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > Hej jag heter Johan och jag har precis börjat att lära mig > > speedcubing! > > Jag bara undrar om här finns någon från Sverige som vet var man > kan > > få tag i kuber här? > > Kan inte hitta det någonstans på nätet! > > MVH/Johan > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- > Yahoo! Groups Links > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Ok. Jag undrar om någon känner till de så kallade assambly kuberna från mefferts shop? Är de av bra kvalitet? Johan --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gustav Fredell" <gufr5747@s...> wrote: > Silikonspray borde finnas i en mängd affärer, järnaffärer, > bilprylsaffärer, bensinstationer m.m. Själv köper jag min silikon på > Clas-Ohlson. Den heter CRC Silicone Spray och funkar bra, är dock > den enda jag prövat. Att justera skruvarna innebär att man justerar > hur 'hård' kuben skall vara. Det går inte att göra på alla kuber, > t.ex. inte på kuberna från rubiks.com. Vad jag vet så gick det dock > på de flesta kuberna på 80-talet så det kanske går på din också. > Skruvarna sitter bakom centerbitarna på varje sida och för att komma > åt dem får man pilla loss brickan som täcker över skruven. Denna > bricka syns ofta inte p.g.a. att klisterlappen sitter över. Det går > dock att få loss den, men inte alltid helt utan besvär. Se upp om du > använder kniv, så att du inte förstör kuben för mycket och att du > inte slinter och skär dig. > > Fullständiga instruktioner för att preparera en kub finns på > http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/Speedcube/makinga.htm . Värt att > notera är att vissa kuber går att få riktigt bra utan att fixa med > skruvarna. Då gäller det dock att ha mer tur med att ha köpt en > ovanligt bra kub. Det viktigaste är dock som sagt silikonet. På Tons > sidan står allt om hur man skall använda (och inte använda) det. > > /Gustav > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Johan" > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > Ok. Tack! > > Synd att det inte finns bra cuber att få tag i här i Sverige! > > På Ton's sida stod det om att man skulle justera skruvarna. Vad > innebär det. Min nuvarande kub är ifrån 80 talet så den börjar bli > ganska sliten. Men den har ju aldrig fått något underhåll heller. > Man ska ju smörja sin kub med silikonspray. Vet du var man kan köpa > sådant här i sverige och vilket märke är i så fall bäst? > > MVH/Johan > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Gustav Fredell > > To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com > > Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 7:54 PM > > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > > > > Hej Johan. > > > > Tyvärr finns det ingen officiell återförsäljare av rubiks- prylar > i > > Sverige. Det går dock att hitta piratkopior lite varstans (t.ex. > på > > teknikmagasinet.se), men dessa hållerextremt dålig kvalitet och > är > > en riktig plåga att vrida på, mer frustrerande än underhållande. > > > > De enda riktiga alternativ som finns är att beställa från > > rubiks.com, där det dock tilkommer en del frakt + 25% moms om > man > > beställer för mer än ungefär 400:-. Det går att beställa riktigt > bra > > kuber från Ton på http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/buy1.htm . > Kuberna > > är dock för tillfället slut, så du får vänta eller höra med Ton > när > > han får in fler. Kom dock ihåg att även bra kuber behöver en del > > förberedande för att bli riktigt bra, silikonspray är ett måste. > > > > /Gustav > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > Hej jag heter Johan och jag har precis börjat att lära mig > > > speedcubing! > > > Jag bara undrar om här finns någon från Sverige som vet var > man > > kan > > > få tag i kuber här? > > > Kan inte hitta det någonstans på nätet! > > > MVH/Johan > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- -- > ----------- > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms > of Service. > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Vad jag har hört och förstått så är de av hög kvalitet men saknar inre fjädermekanism, vilket innebär att de inte är lämpliga för speedcubing då de inte förlåter om man håller kuben fel. Har dock inte prövat några själv. Har däremot köpt en massa andra pussel som är bra och gratis frakt ät svårt att slå. Deras 2*2*2, 4*4*4 och 5*5*5 anses av många vara de bästa för speedcubing. /Gustav --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > Ok. > Jag undrar om någon känner till de så kallade assambly kuberna från > mefferts shop? Är de av bra kvalitet? > Johan > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gustav Fredell" > <gufr5747@s...> wrote: > > Silikonspray borde finnas i en mängd affärer, järnaffärer, > > bilprylsaffärer, bensinstationer m.m. Själv köper jag min silikon > på > > Clas-Ohlson. Den heter CRC Silicone Spray och funkar bra, är dock > > den enda jag prövat. Att justera skruvarna innebär att man > justerar > > hur 'hård' kuben skall vara. Det går inte att göra på alla kuber, > > t.ex. inte på kuberna från rubiks.com. Vad jag vet så gick det > dock > > på de flesta kuberna på 80-talet så det kanske går på din också. > > Skruvarna sitter bakom centerbitarna på varje sida och för att > komma > > åt dem får man pilla loss brickan som täcker över skruven. Denna > > bricka syns ofta inte p.g.a. att klisterlappen sitter över. Det > går > > dock att få loss den, men inte alltid helt utan besvär. Se upp om > du > > använder kniv, så att du inte förstör kuben för mycket och att du > > inte slinter och skär dig. > > > > Fullständiga instruktioner för att preparera en kub finns på > > http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/Speedcube/makinga.htm . Värt att > > notera är att vissa kuber går att få riktigt bra utan att fixa med > > skruvarna. Då gäller det dock att ha mer tur med att ha köpt en > > ovanligt bra kub. Det viktigaste är dock som sagt silikonet. På > Tons > > sidan står allt om hur man skall använda (och inte använda) det. > > > > /Gustav > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Johan" > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > Ok. Tack! > > > Synd att det inte finns bra cuber att få tag i här i Sverige! > > > På Ton's sida stod det om att man skulle justera skruvarna. Vad > > innebär det. Min nuvarande kub är ifrån 80 talet så den börjar bli > > ganska sliten. Men den har ju aldrig fått något underhåll heller. > > Man ska ju smörja sin kub med silikonspray. Vet du var man kan > köpa > > sådant här i sverige och vilket märke är i så fall bäst? > > > MVH/Johan > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: Gustav Fredell > > > To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com > > > Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 7:54 PM > > > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > > > > > > > Hej Johan. > > > > > > Tyvärr finns det ingen officiell återförsäljare av rubiks- > prylar > > i > > > Sverige. Det går dock att hitta piratkopior lite varstans > (t.ex. > > på > > > teknikmagasinet.se), men dessa hållerextremt dålig kvalitet > och > > är > > > en riktig plåga att vrida på, mer frustrerande än > underhållande. > > > > > > De enda riktiga alternativ som finns är att beställa från > > > rubiks.com, där det dock tilkommer en del frakt + 25% moms om > > man > > > beställer för mer än ungefär 400:-. Det går att beställa > riktigt > > bra > > > kuber från Ton på http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/buy1.htm . > > Kuberna > > > är dock för tillfället slut, så du får vänta eller höra med > Ton > > när > > > han får in fler. Kom dock ihåg att även bra kuber behöver en > del > > > förberedande för att bli riktigt bra, silikonspray är ett > måste. > > > > > > /Gustav > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" > > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > > Hej jag heter Johan och jag har precis börjat att lära mig > > > > speedcubing! > > > > Jag bara undrar om här finns någon från Sverige som vet var > > man > > > kan > > > > få tag i kuber här? > > > > Kan inte hitta det någonstans på nätet! > > > > MVH/Johan > > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------- -- > -- > > ----------- > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms > > of Service. > > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

These posts are beginning to remind me of the credits to a Monty Pythom movie. :) David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gustav Fredell" <gufr5747@s...> wrote: > Vad jag har hört och förstått så är de av hög kvalitet men saknar > inre fjädermekanism, vilket innebär att de inte är lämpliga för > speedcubing då de inte förlåter om man håller kuben fel. Har dock > inte prövat några själv. Har däremot köpt en massa andra pussel som > är bra och gratis frakt ät svårt att slå. Deras 2*2*2, 4*4*4 och > 5*5*5 anses av många vara de bästa för speedcubing. > > /Gustav > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > Ok. > > Jag undrar om någon känner till de så kallade assambly kuberna > från > > mefferts shop? Är de av bra kvalitet? > > Johan > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gustav Fredell" > > <gufr5747@s...> wrote: > > > Silikonspray borde finnas i en mängd affärer, järnaffärer, > > > bilprylsaffärer, bensinstationer m.m. Själv köper jag min > silikon > > på > > > Clas-Ohlson. Den heter CRC Silicone Spray och funkar bra, är > dock > > > den enda jag prövat. Att justera skruvarna innebär att man > > justerar > > > hur 'hård' kuben skall vara. Det går inte att göra på alla > kuber, > > > t.ex. inte på kuberna från rubiks.com. Vad jag vet så gick det > > dock > > > på de flesta kuberna på 80-talet så det kanske går på din också. > > > Skruvarna sitter bakom centerbitarna på varje sida och för att > > komma > > > åt dem får man pilla loss brickan som täcker över skruven. Denna > > > bricka syns ofta inte p.g.a. att klisterlappen sitter över. Det > > går > > > dock att få loss den, men inte alltid helt utan besvär. Se upp > om > > du > > > använder kniv, så att du inte förstör kuben för mycket och att > du > > > inte slinter och skär dig. > > > > > > Fullständiga instruktioner för att preparera en kub finns på > > > http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/Speedcube/makinga.htm . Värt att > > > notera är att vissa kuber går att få riktigt bra utan att fixa > med > > > skruvarna. Då gäller det dock att ha mer tur med att ha köpt en > > > ovanligt bra kub. Det viktigaste är dock som sagt silikonet. På > > Tons > > > sidan står allt om hur man skall använda (och inte använda) det. > > > > > > /Gustav > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Johan" > > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > > Ok. Tack! > > > > Synd att det inte finns bra cuber att få tag i här i Sverige! > > > > På Ton's sida stod det om att man skulle justera skruvarna. > Vad > > > innebär det. Min nuvarande kub är ifrån 80 talet så den börjar > bli > > > ganska sliten. Men den har ju aldrig fått något underhåll > heller. > > > Man ska ju smörja sin kub med silikonspray. Vet du var man kan > > köpa > > > sådant här i sverige och vilket märke är i så fall bäst? > > > > MVH/Johan > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > > From: Gustav Fredell > > > > To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com > > > > Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 7:54 PM > > > > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > > > > > > > > > > Hej Johan. > > > > > > > > Tyvärr finns det ingen officiell återförsäljare av rubiks- > > prylar > > > i > > > > Sverige. Det går dock att hitta piratkopior lite varstans > > (t.ex. > > > på > > > > teknikmagasinet.se), men dessa hållerextremt dålig kvalitet > > och > > > är > > > > en riktig plåga att vrida på, mer frustrerande än > > underhållande. > > > > > > > > De enda riktiga alternativ som finns är att beställa från > > > > rubiks.com, där det dock tilkommer en del frakt + 25% moms > om > > > man > > > > beställer för mer än ungefär 400:-. Det går att beställa > > riktigt > > > bra > > > > kuber från Ton på http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/buy1.htm . > > > Kuberna > > > > är dock för tillfället slut, så du får vänta eller höra med > > Ton > > > när > > > > han får in fler. Kom dock ihåg att även bra kuber behöver en > > del > > > > förberedande för att bli riktigt bra, silikonspray är ett > > måste. > > > > > > > > /Gustav > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" > > > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > > > Hej jag heter Johan och jag har precis börjat att lära mig > > > > > speedcubing! > > > > > Jag bara undrar om här finns någon från Sverige som vet > var > > > man > > > > kan > > > > > få tag i kuber här? > > > > > Kan inte hitta det någonstans på nätet! > > > > > MVH/Johan > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > > -- > > > ----------- > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > > > > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > > > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! > Terms > > > of Service. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > These posts are beginning to remind me of the credits to a Monty > Pythom movie. :) A moose bit my sister once...

Wait, you mean they aren't? I thought we were going through another one of those Monty Python quotation parties people always have. I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries! --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > These posts are beginning to remind me of the credits to a Monty > Pythom movie. :) > > David J > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gustav Fredell" > <gufr5747@s...> wrote: > > Vad jag har hört och förstått så är de av hög kvalitet men saknar > > inre fjädermekanism, vilket innebär att de inte är lämpliga för > > speedcubing då de inte förlåter om man håller kuben fel. Har dock > > inte prövat några själv. Har däremot köpt en massa andra pussel som > > är bra och gratis frakt ät svårt att slå. Deras 2*2*2, 4*4*4 och > > 5*5*5 anses av många vara de bästa för speedcubing. > > > > /Gustav > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > Ok. > > > Jag undrar om någon känner till de så kallade assambly kuberna > > från > > > mefferts shop? Är de av bra kvalitet? > > > Johan > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gustav Fredell" > > > <gufr5747@s...> wrote: > > > > Silikonspray borde finnas i en mängd affärer, järnaffärer, > > > > bilprylsaffärer, bensinstationer m.m. Själv köper jag min > > silikon > > > på > > > > Clas-Ohlson. Den heter CRC Silicone Spray och funkar bra, är > > dock > > > > den enda jag prövat. Att justera skruvarna innebär att man > > > justerar > > > > hur 'hård' kuben skall vara. Det går inte att göra på alla > > kuber, > > > > t.ex. inte på kuberna från rubiks.com. Vad jag vet så gick det > > > dock > > > > på de flesta kuberna på 80-talet så det kanske går på din också. > > > > Skruvarna sitter bakom centerbitarna på varje sida och för att > > > komma > > > > åt dem får man pilla loss brickan som täcker över skruven. Denna > > > > bricka syns ofta inte p.g.a. att klisterlappen sitter över. Det > > > går > > > > dock att få loss den, men inte alltid helt utan besvär. Se upp > > om > > > du > > > > använder kniv, så att du inte förstör kuben för mycket och att > > du > > > > inte slinter och skär dig. > > > > > > > > Fullständiga instruktioner för att preparera en kub finns på > > > > http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/Speedcube/makinga.htm . Värt att > > > > notera är att vissa kuber går att få riktigt bra utan att fixa > > med > > > > skruvarna. Då gäller det dock att ha mer tur med att ha köpt en > > > > ovanligt bra kub. Det viktigaste är dock som sagt silikonet. På > > > Tons > > > > sidan står allt om hur man skall använda (och inte använda) det. > > > > > > > > /Gustav > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Johan" > > > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > > > Ok. Tack! > > > > > Synd att det inte finns bra cuber att få tag i här i Sverige! > > > > > På Ton's sida stod det om att man skulle justera skruvarna. > > Vad > > > > innebär det. Min nuvarande kub är ifrån 80 talet så den börjar > > bli > > > > ganska sliten. Men den har ju aldrig fått något underhåll > > heller. > > > > Man ska ju smörja sin kub med silikonspray. Vet du var man kan > > > köpa > > > > sådant här i sverige och vilket märke är i så fall bäst? > > > > > MVH/Johan > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > > > From: Gustav Fredell > > > > > To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com > > > > > Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 7:54 PM > > > > > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hej Johan. > > > > > > > > > > Tyvärr finns det ingen officiell återförsäljare av rubiks- > > > prylar > > > > i > > > > > Sverige. Det går dock att hitta piratkopior lite varstans > > > (t.ex. > > > > på > > > > > teknikmagasinet.se), men dessa hållerextremt dålig kvalitet > > > och > > > > är > > > > > en riktig plåga att vrida på, mer frustrerande än > > > underhållande. > > > > > > > > > > De enda riktiga alternativ som finns är att beställa från > > > > > rubiks.com, där det dock tilkommer en del frakt + 25% moms > > om > > > > man > > > > > beställer för mer än ungefär 400:-. Det går att beställa > > > riktigt > > > > bra > > > > > kuber från Ton på http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/buy1.htm . > > > > Kuberna > > > > > är dock för tillfället slut, så du får vänta eller höra med > > > Ton > > > > när > > > > > han får in fler. Kom dock ihåg att även bra kuber behöver en > > > del > > > > > förberedande för att bli riktigt bra, silikonspray är ett > > > måste. > > > > > > > > > > /Gustav > > > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" > > > > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > > > > Hej jag heter Johan och jag har precis börjat att lära mig > > > > > > speedcubing! > > > > > > Jag bara undrar om här finns någon från Sverige som vet > > var > > > > man > > > > > kan > > > > > > få tag i kuber här? > > > > > > Kan inte hitta det någonstans på nätet! > > > > > > MVH/Johan > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------ --- > > -- > > > -- > > > > ----------- > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > > > > > > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > > > > > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! > > Terms > > > > of Service. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

:D Sorry about the use of Swedish language, I'll try to use strictly English from here on. Don't want the entire speedcubing community rolling on the floor because of some similarity with some renown quest ;) Johan was asking if Mefferts 3*3*3 cubes was any good for speedcubing. My response was that I didn't think so because as far as I know they are of good quality, but lack any internal springs to forgive misalignment. I also added that the 2*2*2, 4*4*4 and 5*5*5 are preferred by many for speedcubing. So if anyone has more experience with mefferts assembly 3*3*3, please add. /Gustav --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > These posts are beginning to remind me of the credits to a Monty > Pythom movie. :) > > David J > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gustav Fredell" > <gufr5747@s...> wrote: > > Vad jag har hört och förstått så är de av hög kvalitet men saknar > > inre fjädermekanism, vilket innebär att de inte är lämpliga för > > speedcubing då de inte förlåter om man håller kuben fel. Har dock > > inte prövat några själv. Har däremot köpt en massa andra pussel som > > är bra och gratis frakt ät svårt att slå. Deras 2*2*2, 4*4*4 och > > 5*5*5 anses av många vara de bästa för speedcubing. > > > > /Gustav > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > Ok. > > > Jag undrar om någon känner till de så kallade assambly kuberna > > från > > > mefferts shop? Är de av bra kvalitet? > > > Johan > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gustav Fredell" > > > <gufr5747@s...> wrote: > > > > Silikonspray borde finnas i en mängd affärer, järnaffärer, > > > > bilprylsaffärer, bensinstationer m.m. Själv köper jag min > > silikon > > > på > > > > Clas-Ohlson. Den heter CRC Silicone Spray och funkar bra, är > > dock > > > > den enda jag prövat. Att justera skruvarna innebär att man > > > justerar > > > > hur 'hård' kuben skall vara. Det går inte att göra på alla > > kuber, > > > > t.ex. inte på kuberna från rubiks.com. Vad jag vet så gick det > > > dock > > > > på de flesta kuberna på 80-talet så det kanske går på din också. > > > > Skruvarna sitter bakom centerbitarna på varje sida och för att > > > komma > > > > åt dem får man pilla loss brickan som täcker över skruven. Denna > > > > bricka syns ofta inte p.g.a. att klisterlappen sitter över. Det > > > går > > > > dock att få loss den, men inte alltid helt utan besvär. Se upp > > om > > > du > > > > använder kniv, så att du inte förstör kuben för mycket och att > > du > > > > inte slinter och skär dig. > > > > > > > > Fullständiga instruktioner för att preparera en kub finns på > > > > http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/Speedcube/makinga.htm . Värt att > > > > notera är att vissa kuber går att få riktigt bra utan att fixa > > med > > > > skruvarna. Då gäller det dock att ha mer tur med att ha köpt en > > > > ovanligt bra kub. Det viktigaste är dock som sagt silikonet. På > > > Tons > > > > sidan står allt om hur man skall använda (och inte använda) det. > > > > > > > > /Gustav > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Johan" > > > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > > > Ok. Tack! > > > > > Synd att det inte finns bra cuber att få tag i här i Sverige! > > > > > På Ton's sida stod det om att man skulle justera skruvarna. > > Vad > > > > innebär det. Min nuvarande kub är ifrån 80 talet så den börjar > > bli > > > > ganska sliten. Men den har ju aldrig fått något underhåll > > heller. > > > > Man ska ju smörja sin kub med silikonspray. Vet du var man kan > > > köpa > > > > sådant här i sverige och vilket märke är i så fall bäst? > > > > > MVH/Johan > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > > > From: Gustav Fredell > > > > > To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com > > > > > Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 7:54 PM > > > > > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hej Johan. > > > > > > > > > > Tyvärr finns det ingen officiell återförsäljare av rubiks- > > > prylar > > > > i > > > > > Sverige. Det går dock att hitta piratkopior lite varstans > > > (t.ex. > > > > på > > > > > teknikmagasinet.se), men dessa hållerextremt dålig kvalitet > > > och > > > > är > > > > > en riktig plåga att vrida på, mer frustrerande än > > > underhållande. > > > > > > > > > > De enda riktiga alternativ som finns är att beställa från > > > > > rubiks.com, där det dock tilkommer en del frakt + 25% moms > > om > > > > man > > > > > beställer för mer än ungefär 400:-. Det går att beställa > > > riktigt > > > > bra > > > > > kuber från Ton på http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/buy1.htm . > > > > Kuberna > > > > > är dock för tillfället slut, så du får vänta eller höra med > > > Ton > > > > när > > > > > han får in fler. Kom dock ihåg att även bra kuber behöver en > > > del > > > > > förberedande för att bli riktigt bra, silikonspray är ett > > > måste. > > > > > > > > > > /Gustav > > > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" > > > > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > > > > Hej jag heter Johan och jag har precis börjat att lära mig > > > > > > speedcubing! > > > > > > Jag bara undrar om här finns någon från Sverige som vet > > var > > > > man > > > > > kan > > > > > > få tag i kuber här? > > > > > > Kan inte hitta det någonstans på nätet! > > > > > > MVH/Johan > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > -- > > > -- > > > > ----------- > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > > > > > > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > > > > > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! > > Terms > > > > of Service. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

No tak, no tak, Michaeli, no need to be abussive. The Swedes had their fling and hopefully they will not do it again. You really should cut this out, Swedish members. How would you like it, if Jessica, I, Mirek and Josef started to talk here in Czech, Ron, Jaap, Peter and Ton started talking un Dutch, the Japanese started talking in their language...pretty soon this group would become a Tower of Babel. You can practise your native patriotism via emails, Swedish chat or in a cofee shop somewhere in Sweden, but this group is no place for it. Hana a kostky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > Wait, you mean they aren't? > I thought we were going through another one of those Monty Python > quotation parties people always have. > I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster, and your > father smelt of elderberries! > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" > <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > > These posts are beginning to remind me of the credits to a Monty > > Pythom movie. :) > > > > David J > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gustav Fredell" > > <gufr5747@s...> wrote: > > > Vad jag har hört och förstått så är de av hög kvalitet men saknar > > > inre fjädermekanism, vilket innebär att de inte är lämpliga för > > > speedcubing då de inte förlåter om man håller kuben fel. Har dock > > > inte prövat några själv. Har däremot köpt en massa andra pussel > som > > > är bra och gratis frakt ät svårt att slå. Deras 2*2*2, 4*4*4 och > > > 5*5*5 anses av många vara de bästa för speedcubing. > > > > > > /Gustav > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" > > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > > Ok. > > > > Jag undrar om någon känner till de så kallade assambly kuberna > > > från > > > > mefferts shop? Är de av bra kvalitet? > > > > Johan > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gustav Fredell" > > > > <gufr5747@s...> wrote: > > > > > Silikonspray borde finnas i en mängd affärer, järnaffärer, > > > > > bilprylsaffärer, bensinstationer m.m. Själv köper jag min > > > silikon > > > > på > > > > > Clas-Ohlson. Den heter CRC Silicone Spray och funkar bra, är > > > dock > > > > > den enda jag prövat. Att justera skruvarna innebär att man > > > > justerar > > > > > hur 'hård' kuben skall vara. Det går inte att göra på alla > > > kuber, > > > > > t.ex. inte på kuberna från rubiks.com. Vad jag vet så gick > det > > > > dock > > > > > på de flesta kuberna på 80-talet så det kanske går på din > också. > > > > > Skruvarna sitter bakom centerbitarna på varje sida och för > att > > > > komma > > > > > åt dem får man pilla loss brickan som täcker över skruven. > Denna > > > > > bricka syns ofta inte p.g.a. att klisterlappen sitter över. > Det > > > > går > > > > > dock att få loss den, men inte alltid helt utan besvär. Se > upp > > > om > > > > du > > > > > använder kniv, så att du inte förstör kuben för mycket och > att > > > du > > > > > inte slinter och skär dig. > > > > > > > > > > Fullständiga instruktioner för att preparera en kub finns på > > > > > http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/Speedcube/makinga.htm . Värt > att > > > > > notera är att vissa kuber går att få riktigt bra utan att > fixa > > > med > > > > > skruvarna. Då gäller det dock att ha mer tur med att ha köpt > en > > > > > ovanligt bra kub. Det viktigaste är dock som sagt silikonet. > På > > > > Tons > > > > > sidan står allt om hur man skall använda (och inte använda) > det. > > > > > > > > > > /Gustav > > > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Johan" > > > > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > > > > Ok. Tack! > > > > > > Synd att det inte finns bra cuber att få tag i här i > Sverige! > > > > > > På Ton's sida stod det om att man skulle justera skruvarna. > > > Vad > > > > > innebär det. Min nuvarande kub är ifrån 80 talet så den > börjar > > > bli > > > > > ganska sliten. Men den har ju aldrig fått något underhåll > > > heller. > > > > > Man ska ju smörja sin kub med silikonspray. Vet du var man > kan > > > > köpa > > > > > sådant här i sverige och vilket märke är i så fall bäst? > > > > > > MVH/Johan > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > > > > From: Gustav Fredell > > > > > > To: speedsolvingrubikscube@...m > > > > > > Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 7:54 PM > > > > > > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hej Johan. > > > > > > > > > > > > Tyvärr finns det ingen officiell återförsäljare av rubiks- > > > > prylar > > > > > i > > > > > > Sverige. Det går dock att hitta piratkopior lite varstans > > > > (t.ex. > > > > > på > > > > > > teknikmagasinet.se), men dessa hållerextremt dålig > kvalitet > > > > och > > > > > är > > > > > > en riktig plåga att vrida på, mer frustrerande än > > > > underhållande. > > > > > > > > > > > > De enda riktiga alternativ som finns är att beställa från > > > > > > rubiks.com, där det dock tilkommer en del frakt + 25% > moms > > > om > > > > > man > > > > > > beställer för mer än ungefär 400:-. Det går att beställa > > > > riktigt > > > > > bra > > > > > > kuber från Ton på > http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/buy1.htm . > > > > > Kuberna > > > > > > är dock för tillfället slut, så du får vänta eller höra > med > > > > Ton > > > > > när > > > > > > han får in fler. Kom dock ihåg att även bra kuber behöver > en > > > > del > > > > > > förberedande för att bli riktigt bra, silikonspray är ett > > > > måste. > > > > > > > > > > > > /Gustav > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In > speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" > > > > > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > > > > > Hej jag heter Johan och jag har precis börjat att lära > mig > > > > > > > speedcubing! > > > > > > > Jag bara undrar om här finns någon från Sverige som vet > > > var > > > > > man > > > > > > kan > > > > > > > få tag i kuber här? > > > > > > > Kan inte hitta det någonstans på nätet! > > > > > > > MVH/Johan > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------- --- > --- > > > -- > > > > -- > > > > > ----------- > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > > > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > > > > > > > > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > > > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > > > > > > > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! > > > Terms > > > > > of Service. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I have experience with the Meffert's 3x3x3 assembly cube. I would not recommend it for speedcubing. This is because the internal mechanism is all plastic, and it can break quite easily with enough force. What I mean is, the centers are held on by 4 small plastic tabs apiece (for lack of a better description), and they can break easily from using the force that we do when we speedcube. It does work rather well for regular use though. Hope I helped. CMG -----Original Message----- From: Gustav Fredell [mailto:gufr5747@...] Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 6:19 PM To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? :D Sorry about the use of Swedish language, I'll try to use strictly English from here on. Don't want the entire speedcubing community rolling on the floor because of some similarity with some renown quest ;) Johan was asking if Mefferts 3*3*3 cubes was any good for speedcubing. My response was that I didn't think so because as far as I know they are of good quality, but lack any internal springs to forgive misalignment. I also added that the 2*2*2, 4*4*4 and 5*5*5 are preferred by many for speedcubing. So if anyone has more experience with mefferts assembly 3*3*3, please add. /Gustav --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "d_j_salvia" <d_j_salvia@y...> wrote: > These posts are beginning to remind me of the credits to a Monty > Pythom movie. :) > > David J > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gustav Fredell" > <gufr5747@s...> wrote: > > Vad jag har hört och förstått så är de av hög kvalitet men saknar > > inre fjädermekanism, vilket innebär att de inte är lämpliga för > > speedcubing då de inte förlåter om man håller kuben fel. Har dock > > inte prövat några själv. Har däremot köpt en massa andra pussel som > > är bra och gratis frakt ät svårt att slå. Deras 2*2*2, 4*4*4 och > > 5*5*5 anses av många vara de bästa för speedcubing. > > > > /Gustav > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > Ok. > > > Jag undrar om någon känner till de så kallade assambly kuberna > > från > > > mefferts shop? Är de av bra kvalitet? > > > Johan > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gustav Fredell" > > > <gufr5747@s...> wrote: > > > > Silikonspray borde finnas i en mängd affärer, järnaffärer, > > > > bilprylsaffärer, bensinstationer m.m. Själv köper jag min > > silikon > > > på > > > > Clas-Ohlson. Den heter CRC Silicone Spray och funkar bra, är > > dock > > > > den enda jag prövat. Att justera skruvarna innebär att man > > > justerar > > > > hur 'hård' kuben skall vara. Det går inte att göra på alla > > kuber, > > > > t.ex. inte på kuberna från rubiks.com. Vad jag vet så gick det > > > dock > > > > på de flesta kuberna på 80-talet så det kanske går på din också. > > > > Skruvarna sitter bakom centerbitarna på varje sida och för att > > > komma > > > > åt dem får man pilla loss brickan som täcker över skruven. Denna > > > > bricka syns ofta inte p.g.a. att klisterlappen sitter över. Det > > > går > > > > dock att få loss den, men inte alltid helt utan besvär. Se upp > > om > > > du > > > > använder kniv, så att du inte förstör kuben för mycket och att > > du > > > > inte slinter och skär dig. > > > > > > > > Fullständiga instruktioner för att preparera en kub finns på > > > > http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/Speedcube/makinga.htm . Värt att > > > > notera är att vissa kuber går att få riktigt bra utan att fixa > > med > > > > skruvarna. Då gäller det dock att ha mer tur med att ha köpt en > > > > ovanligt bra kub. Det viktigaste är dock som sagt silikonet. På > > > Tons > > > > sidan står allt om hur man skall använda (och inte använda) det. > > > > > > > > /Gustav > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Johan" > > > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > > > Ok. Tack! > > > > > Synd att det inte finns bra cuber att få tag i här i Sverige! > > > > > På Ton's sida stod det om att man skulle justera skruvarna. > > Vad > > > > innebär det. Min nuvarande kub är ifrån 80 talet så den börjar > > bli > > > > ganska sliten. Men den har ju aldrig fått något underhåll > > heller. > > > > Man ska ju smörja sin kub med silikonspray. Vet du var man kan > > > köpa > > > > sådant här i sverige och vilket märke är i så fall bäst? > > > > > MVH/Johan > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > > > From: Gustav Fredell > > > > > To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com > > > > > Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 7:54 PM > > > > > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hej Johan. > > > > > > > > > > Tyvärr finns det ingen officiell återförsäljare av rubiks- > > > prylar > > > > i > > > > > Sverige. Det går dock att hitta piratkopior lite varstans > > > (t.ex. > > > > på > > > > > teknikmagasinet.se), men dessa hållerextremt dålig kvalitet > > > och > > > > är > > > > > en riktig plåga att vrida på, mer frustrerande än > > > underhållande. > > > > > > > > > > De enda riktiga alternativ som finns är att beställa från > > > > > rubiks.com, där det dock tilkommer en del frakt + 25% moms > > om > > > > man > > > > > beställer för mer än ungefär 400:-. Det går att beställa > > > riktigt > > > > bra > > > > > kuber från Ton på http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/buy1.htm . > > > > Kuberna > > > > > är dock för tillfället slut, så du får vänta eller höra med > > > Ton > > > > när > > > > > han får in fler. Kom dock ihåg att även bra kuber behöver en > > > del > > > > > förberedande för att bli riktigt bra, silikonspray är ett > > > måste. > > > > > > > > > > /Gustav > > > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "jeppsson88" > > > > > <cool_hamilton@h...> wrote: > > > > > > Hej jag heter Johan och jag har precis börjat att lära mig > > > > > > speedcubing! > > > > > > Jag bara undrar om här finns någon från Sverige som vet > > var > > > > man > > > > > kan > > > > > > få tag i kuber här? > > > > > > Kan inte hitta det någonstans på nätet! > > > > > > MVH/Johan > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > -- > > > -- > > > > ----------- > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > > > > > > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > > > > > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! > > Terms > > > > of Service. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] _____ Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <mailto:speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > How would you like it, if Jessica, I, Mirek and Josef started to talk here in Czech, > Ron, Jaap, Peter and Ton started talking un Dutch, the Japanese > started talking in their language... It would be perfectly fine if they couldn't speak English. Sounds to me like that's Johann's case.

Hey I have a question for all you math people. I'm a math major so I'm starting to really get into the math aspects of the cube now that I'm learning more about math itself. I'm in a combinatorics class, which inspired me to try to do these calculations. I tried to find the number of combinations of a 4x4x4 supercube and a 5x5x5 supercube. Here is what I came up with. 4x4x4 supercube Just from experience on the 4x4x4 supercube I have found that it is possible to switch any two edge pieces and leave the rest of the cube alone (including centers). I have also noticed that the parity of the centers, with respect to 2 piece switches, and the parity of the corners, with respect to 2 piece switches, are always the same. So I came up with this calculation. Assume that solving the colors onto their original faces does not matter or cannot be measured. By this I mean if before you scramble you have yellow on top, red on front, and green on right and you then scramble and solve without ever rotating the cube so that you end up with yellow on left, red on front and green on top, then you still have a a solved cube. Since the edges do their own thing and aren't affected by the parities of the other groups of pieces they can be permuted into all 24 possible locations, so they have 24! positions. Now assume one of the corners, FUL say, is said to be in the "correct slot" (just like for finding the number of combos on a 2x2x2 cube). Then the corners have 7!*(3)^6 possible positions and orientations included. Lastly we have to permute the centers. Since we have permuted all of the corners together, they may have either odd or even parity, so out of the 24 positions for the centers we can permute 22 of them totally randomly, but the last two must be placed in a set way to conserve the parity. So there are P(24,22) or (24!)/(2!) ways to permute the centers. Total that makes [(24!)^2*(7!)*(3)^6]/2 if I am doing this correctly. To then find the number of cominations of the normal 4x4x4 is easy from here. The corners are the same, and the edges are the same, but for the centers replace the (24!)/(2!) term with (24!)/(4!)^6 to permute 6 groups of 4 pieces, the elements of each group being indistinguishable from each other. Parity doesn't come into account for the centers since placing the last four centers does conserve parity technically (physically the pieces are in a position to do so), but you don't see this if it is not a supercube. So for a normal 4x4x4 you would have [(24!)^2*(7!)*(3)^6]/[2*(4!)^6] if I am not mistaken. This number, though, doesn't agree with Richard Carr's formula, and he kinda knows more math than me :) so where did I go wrong? Also here is my calculation for the 5x5x5 supercube. The parity in the corners (w.r.t 2 piece swaps), the very centermost centers (w.r.t quarter turns), the centermost edges (w.r.t 2 piece swaps), and the outer center pieces (the ones that form an X around the very center piece)(w.r.t 2 piece swaps) are always the same. This is just something I have noticed having messed around a bunch on a 5x5x5 supercube. Also the following parities are separate, but conserved amongst eachother. The parity of the outer edges (w.r.t 2 piece swaps) is the same as the parity of the central centers (the ones that form a "+" around the centermost center)(w.r.t 2 piece swaps) is the same and also separate from the parities of the corners, etc.. So I considered these two groups as different cases. Case 1: the corners/central edges/centermost centers/outer centers First give all the centermost centers their orientations, so 4^6. Now the centers either have odd or even parity, which must be conserved. The corners now have (8!)/(2!) positions and 3^7 orientations. The centermost edges now have (12!)/(2!) positions and 2^11 orientations. The outer centers (the ones that form the X's) have (24!)/(2!) positions. So all told just these three groups considered have [(4^6)*(8!)*(3^7)*(12!)*(2^11)*(24!)]/[2^3] = 24!*12!*8!*(2^20)*(3^7) Case 2: the outer edges/the inner centers The edges, just like on the 4x4x4, sort of do their own thing without affecting the corners/central center/etc.. so we can go ahead and permute them into their 24! spots. Now the parity of these outer edges is either odd or even, so to account for that we permute 22 out of the 24 central centers, leaving the last two to occupy the required spots to conserve parity. So case 2 has, 24!*(24!)/(2!) = (24!)^2/(2!) Since each case of case 1 has all the possibilites of case 2 and vice versa we just multiply all of that together and get (24!)^3*12!*8!*(2^19)*(3^7) To find the number of combinations to the normal 5x5x5 from here I assume we would just adjust the terms for the 2 types of moveable centers. So in case 1, (24!)/(2!) for the outer centers becomes (24!)/(4!)^6 and in case 2 for the central centers (24!)/(2!) becomes (24!)/(4!)^6 and the final count changes to, [(24!)^3*12!*8!*(2^21)*(3^7)]/[(4!)^12] This number, nor my number for the 5x5x5 supercube, agree with Richard's formula. I guess I'm confused where I went wrong. I made the parity assumptions based on experience of trying to set up various positions in the edges or centers and trying to reduce all the other groups to their original positions, or a position with just 2 pieces switched, etc.. I don't really know much group theory beyond the basic introductory definition of a group of numbers, so I can't really use that to determine how the parity works. I just tried to go off my experience having solved each type of supercube several times. So anyway I think it's right, but it doesn't agree with Richard's calculations, which I'm inclined to trust. So I'm wondering where I went wrong? Does anyone have any ideas? Chris P.S. To make sure I used the formula right the floor function of 2.5 would be 2, and the cieling function of 2.5 would be 3 correct? The exponents in Richard's formula used the floor and cieling functions quite a bit and I used those as I just mentioned.

Well after about 8 months and 4000 messages I am once again a regular member of this group!! I believe it was during finals week at the end of the last school year when I last visited this site once a day. Since then I had a great summer skimboarding every day, I went to the World Rubik's Championships, and started my senior year at the University of California, Irvine. Since the World Championships I have neglected my cube. It all changed when I started this semester taking my Senior Design Project. I am designing a robot that manipulates a Rubik's cube out of Legos. Very much like JP Brown's Lego Cube Solver. Mine is different because we have to design the circuitry as well. One day I might put a camera on it and have it solve the cube by itself, but I see no need too. (Besides I can solve it :) ) Anyway I hope to improve my speed-cubing times and bring down my average. Have a nice day, -Kenneth ps anyone try mirror cubing yet?

Hi there Taka. Welcome to the group. In answer to your question about Australian speedcubers, there are a few in this e-group (like me!), but not very many. Jasmine. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, takahito_domon <no_reply@y...> wrote: > My name is Taka. Nice to read you guys! > And this is the first time to post to this e-group. > > I am Japanese, and I am going to Australia, Brisbane, to study > English next week Fri 13th Feb. > And I wanna know there are any Aussie speed cubists in this e-group > or not. > Because I don't hear the Aussie speed cubists' news in Japan. > So I don't have any informations about Rubik's Cube in Australia. > > Btw, my average of 10 record is 18.27, but I have been so busy in > these days that I was not able to practice so much. > I am a student and I have many exams now. > So that I was not able to practice so much. > > Anyway, hoping you are not bored by my message. > Thanks and have a nice Cubing! > > taka > > Taka's Cube Room > http://dosanko-cubist.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ > takahito_domon@y...

Just a question "off the record". In the 30´s there was a famous bridge player, Jelinek, member of the Austrian-Hungarian "wonderteam". (Jelinek-Schneider). Is he known to you? R ----- Original Message ----- From: "Josef Jelinek" <gloom@...> To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2004 3:15 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Jelinek Josef Applet Trouble > Well, I think that I can, since I am Josef Jelinek. > > First look at the new version of the Applet and the new page: > > http://software.rubikscube.info/AnimCube/ > > There are many examples of use there. And quite a lot of work > was done recently. > I would like to here any feedback from anyone! > > Josef > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant > <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > Can anyone help me with the rubiks applet by Jelinek > > Josef? I'm confused as to how to work with it. > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Hana M. Bizek" > <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > How would you like it, if Jessica, I, Mirek and Josef started to > talk here in Czech, > > Ron, Jaap, Peter and Ton started talking un Dutch, the Japanese > > started talking in their language... > > It would be perfectly fine if they couldn't speak English. Sounds to > me like that's Johann's case. Then Johan should perhaps send an email to one of his English- speaking countrymen and ask for a translation. This is what I tell my own countrymen: English language is the King of the mainstream Internet. If you want rhe full benefit of rhe Internet, you have to know English. Hana a kosrtky BTW, English is not my native languag, either, so please don't acuse me of ramming it down anyone's throat. :-)

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey I have a question for all you math people. I'm a math major so > I'm starting to really get into the math aspects of the cube now > that I'm learning more about math itself. I'm in a combinatorics > class, which inspired me to try to do these calculations. I tried > to find the number of combinations of a 4x4x4 supercube and a 5x5x5 > supercube. Here is what I came up with. > > 4x4x4 supercube > Just from experience on the 4x4x4 supercube I have found that it is > possible to switch any two edge pieces and leave the rest of the > cube alone (including centers). I have also noticed that the parity > of the centers, with respect to 2 piece switches, and the parity of > the corners, with respect to 2 piece switches, are always the same. > So I came up with this calculation. > > Assume that solving the colors onto their original faces does not > matter or cannot be measured. By this I mean if before you scramble > you have yellow on top, red on front, and green on right and you > then scramble and solve without ever rotating the cube so that you > end up with yellow on left, red on front and green on top, then you > still have a a solved cube. > > Since the edges do their own thing and aren't affected by the > parities of the other groups of pieces they can be permuted into all > 24 possible locations, so they have 24! positions. Now assume one > of the corners, FUL say, is said to be in the "correct slot" (just > like for finding the number of combos on a 2x2x2 cube). Then the > corners have 7!*(3)^6 possible positions and orientations included. > Lastly we have to permute the centers. Since we have permuted all > of the corners together, they may have either odd or even parity, so > out of the 24 positions for the centers we can permute 22 of them > totally randomly, but the last two must be placed in a set way to > conserve the parity. So there are P(24,22) or (24!)/(2!) ways to > permute the centers. Total that makes [(24!)^2*(7!)*(3)^6]/2 if I > am doing this correctly. > > To then find the number of cominations of the normal 4x4x4 is easy > from here. The corners are the same, and the edges are the same, > but for the centers replace the (24!)/(2!) term with (24!)/(4!)^6 to > permute 6 groups of 4 pieces, the elements of each group being > indistinguishable from each other. Parity doesn't come into account > for the centers since placing the last four centers does conserve > parity technically (physically the pieces are in a position to do > so), but you don't see this if it is not a supercube. > > So for a normal 4x4x4 you would have [(24!)^2*(7!)*(3)^6]/[2*(4!) ^6] > if I am not mistaken. This number, though, doesn't agree with > Richard Carr's formula, and he kinda knows more math than me :) so > where did I go wrong? I make it that your number is half of my number. In the centres part you had 24!/2 which you then changed to 24!/(4!)^6 to account for it not being a supercube so that the positions are indistinguishable if 2 centres are changed. In the number you give you have both the 4!^6 and the 2 in the denominator though. If you look at my formula, the 88179840 part is simply 8!*3^7 which accounts for the corners being randomly scrambled. In the denominator there is a term (the second one) which works out as 1 if N is odd and 24 if N is even. This accounts for even cubes not having fixed centres (it does much the same as when you assumed one corner to be correctly solved). That reduces 8!*3^7 to 7!*3^6. We both have a (24!)^2 on the top and a (4!)^6 on the bottom, so the only difference is that you have kept your 1/2 from supercube considerations over. (The other terms in my formula are as follows: the power of 1024 on the top is the central edge orientation and the fact that central edges and corners are either both permuted oddly or both permuted evenly - it is either 1024=2^11/2 if N is odd or 1 if N is even. The first factorial on the top accounts for the permutation of the central edges - 12! if N is odd and 0!=1 if N is even. The final term in the numerator accounts for the permutation of the centres and of the non-central edges. The centres fall into orbits of size 24 so we get a 24! for each of them but this is too much and the exponent at the bottom involving 24 (i.e. 4!) corrects for the centres. The exponent is slightly different here from the part at the top because that also included the non-central edges. (My formula is for non-supercubes.)) > > Also here is my calculation for the 5x5x5 supercube. The parity in > the corners (w.r.t 2 piece swaps), the very centermost centers > (w.r.t quarter turns), the centermost edges (w.r.t 2 piece swaps), > and the outer center pieces (the ones that form an X around the very > center piece)(w.r.t 2 piece swaps) are always the same. This is > just something I have noticed having messed around a bunch on a > 5x5x5 supercube. If you look at the group theory behind it it will be clear. This is because slice moves give even permutations of the X centres and the only way to get odd permutations of them is by quarter face turns. >Also the following parities are separate, but > conserved amongst eachother. The parity of the outer edges (w.r.t 2 > piece swaps) is the same as the parity of the central centers (the > ones that form a "+" around the centermost center)(w.r.t 2 piece > swaps) is the same and also separate from the parities of the > corners, etc.. That's not quite true. If you do a quarter turn of a face the outer edges are permuted evenly (2 4-cycles) but the inner + centres are permuted oddly (1 4-cycle). You can see this by just doing "U" on a solved cube, for instance. If the corners are permuted evenly then they do agree, though. > > So I considered these two groups as different cases. > > Case 1: the corners/central edges/centermost centers/outer centers > > First give all the centermost centers their orientations, so 4^6. > Now the centers either have odd or even parity, which must be > conserved. The corners now have (8!)/(2!) positions and 3^7 > orientations. The centermost edges now have (12!)/(2!) positions > and 2^11 orientations. The outer centers (the ones that form the > X's) have (24!)/(2!) positions. So all told just these three groups > considered have > [(4^6)*(8!)*(3^7)*(12!)*(2^11)*(24!)]/[2^3] = 24!*12!*8!*(2^20)* (3^7) You're missing something here. In 4^6/2, 8!/2 and 12!/2 and 24!/2 the 2's don't multiply - they all arise in the same way (because the cube needs an odd or even number of quarter face turns to solve it). You'd get (4^6*8!*12!*24!)/2*(2^11*3^7). > > Case 2: the outer edges/the inner centers > > The edges, just like on the 4x4x4, sort of do their own thing > without affecting the corners/central center/etc.. so we can go > ahead and permute them into their 24! spots. Now the parity of > these outer edges is either odd or even, so to account for that we > permute 22 out of the 24 central centers, leaving the last two to > occupy the required spots to conserve parity. So case 2 has, > 24!*(24!)/(2!) = (24!)^2/(2!) > This bit looks good to me. > Since each case of case 1 has all the possibilites of case 2 and > vice versa we just multiply all of that together and get > That's also true but the number you had in case 1 is a quarter of what it should be. > (24!)^3*12!*8!*(2^19)*(3^7) > > To find the number of combinations to the normal 5x5x5 from here I > assume we would just adjust the terms for the 2 types of moveable > centers. This looks correct too. >So in case 1, (24!)/(2!) for the outer centers becomes > (24!)/(4!)^6 and in case 2 for the central centers (24!)/(2!) > becomes (24!)/(4!)^6 and the final count changes to, > [(24!)^3*12!*8!*(2^21)*(3^7)]/[(4!)^12] > > This number, nor my number for the 5x5x5 supercube, agree with > Richard's formula. I assume it's just that factor of 4, although I don't want to work out numbers of that size just now! Your main problem in the 5x5x5 seems to be that you assumed the division by 2 in the case of corners, central edges and X centres were independent (though curiously the centremost centres you did not assume independence for, but saw that this was connected (in sentence 2 of case 1). Thus you divided by 2^3 instead of 2 (if you hadn't made the other connection it would presumably have been 2^4). In fact, all of the divisions by 2 in case 1 arise from whether the cube needs an odd or even number of quarter face turns in its solution and this is why you only get to account for the 2 once rather than 3 or 4 times. >I guess I'm confused where I went wrong. I made > the parity assumptions based on experience of trying to set up > various positions in the edges or centers and trying to reduce all > the other groups to their original positions, or a position with > just 2 pieces switched, etc.. I don't really know much group theory > beyond the basic introductory definition of a group of numbers, so I > can't really use that to determine how the parity works. I just > tried to go off my experience having solved each type of supercube > several times. > > So anyway I think it's right, but it doesn't agree with Richard's > calculations, which I'm inclined to trust. So I'm wondering where I > went wrong? Does anyone have any ideas? > > Chris > > P.S. To make sure I used the formula right the floor function of > 2.5 would be 2, and the cieling function of 2.5 would be 3 correct? > The exponents in Richard's formula used the floor and cieling > functions quite a bit and I used those as I just mentioned. Yes, that's right. It's ceiling rather than cieling though. Much of that is just to get 1 if N is odd and 0 if N is even (or 1 if N is even and 0 if N is odd).

Thanks, This is Taka. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, jasmine_ellen <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hi there Taka. Welcome to the group. In answer to your question about > Australian speedcubers, there are a few in this e-group (like me!), > but not very many. > > Jasmine. Nice to read you Jasmine. And thanks for your message. I am going to go less than 10 days! Wow! I will be nervous, but I am sure I can do somehow. Because I made my foreign friends be surprised many times! Maybe the friend I will make in there will also be surpriesed. And I will try to make Rubik's Cube much popular arround me! If you have any informations, please let me know. For example, where can I get Rubik's cube or another 3D puzzles etc. I ma gonna go Griffth Uni, Brisbane. But I don't have any knowledg about them! Alas! lol Anyway, thanks for your message once again. I felt ease. Best, taka.

If yoy should ask - via internet - people in Czechia to send you worn out cubes, in what language would you write? R ----- Original Message ----- From: "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@...> To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 2:08 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Hana M. Bizek" > > <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > How would you like it, if Jessica, I, Mirek and Josef started to > > talk here in Czech, > > > Ron, Jaap, Peter and Ton started talking un Dutch, the Japanese > > > started talking in their language... > > > > It would be perfectly fine if they couldn't speak English. Sounds > to > > me like that's Johann's case. > > Then Johan should perhaps send an email to one of his English- > speaking countrymen and ask for a translation. > > This is what I tell my own countrymen: English language is the King > of the mainstream Internet. If you want rhe full benefit of rhe > Internet, you have to know English. > Hana a kosrtky > BTW, English is not my native languag, either, so please don't acuse > me of ramming it down anyone's throat. :-) > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

So are the records set at RWC 2003 in the 2004 records book, does anybody know yet? Just wondering cause i may have to get a copy. jake

OK! Sorry everybody! I disn't mean to distur any by writing in Swedish! I just asked if someone here knew where to get new cubes in sweden. So I thought that It wouln't concern anybody outside Sweden. And then it actually is much easier to write in your mother tounge! I wont do it again. I'll send the swedesh messages to teir mail instead. So now I ask in Engish: Where do you buy your cubes. They aren't available here in Sweden so I'll need to find it on the Webb! Have a nice day all of you! /Johan ----- Original Message ----- From: Rune Wesström To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 3:05 PM Subject: Re: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? If yoy should ask - via internet - people in Czechia to send you worn out cubes, in what language would you write? R ----- Original Message ----- From: "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@earthlink.net> To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 2:08 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Hana M. Bizek" > > <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > How would you like it, if Jessica, I, Mirek and Josef started to > > talk here in Czech, > > > Ron, Jaap, Peter and Ton started talking un Dutch, the Japanese > > > started talking in their language... > > > > It would be perfectly fine if they couldn't speak English. Sounds > to > > me like that's Johann's case. > > Then Johan should perhaps send an email to one of his English- > speaking countrymen and ask for a translation. > > This is what I tell my own countrymen: English language is the King > of the mainstream Internet. If you want rhe full benefit of rhe > Internet, you have to know English. > Hana a kosrtky > BTW, English is not my native languag, either, so please don't acuse > me of ramming it down anyone's throat. :-) > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In my web page I have a formula that I get from the cubeloversmailinglist for supercubes nxnxn (with some variants). If the centers of each face is diferent from the others centers (from the same face) (for example, each center have a number) I get that the numbers of combinations is approximately 7.072*10^53 for 4x4x4 2.583*10^90 for 5x5x5 1.310*10^148 for 6x6x6 etc If the centers of the same face are all equals (they all have the same picture) I get that the number of combinations is 7.401*10^45 for 4x4x4 2.829*10^74 for 5x5x5 2.829*10^74 for 6x6x6 Some time ago I tried to verify the formula I use. I think I have get proof the formula is correct (I have studied maths at university and I finish my studies last year) but the proof is long and I can have made some mistake. My webpage is in Spanish (http://usuarios.lycos.es/rubikaz) and in English (http://usuarios.lycos.es/rubikaz/english) but I don´t have finished the English version yet and the formula only appears in the Spanish version. I'd like you compare my results with the yours (if both are the same I think both have been correts). Bye

Do we have it posted somewhere that this group is for people who know english? I don't remember seeing anything like that. I personally dont have a problem with people using a different language, just as long as someone follows up the message in english to let us know what is going on. If it bothers people too much than maybe there should be seperate club for different languages or something and keep the groups strictly one language. I dunno... Jake

Probably none, because you do not have a chance to succeed in getting worn out cubes in the Czech Republic. (Me, my friends and other people tried it quite hard.) In addition, not many people in this group that understand Czech live in the Czech Republic (except for me). Josef --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Rune Wesström <rune.wesstrom@h...> wrote: > If yoy should ask - via internet - people in Czechia to send you worn out cubes, in what language would you write? > R > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> > To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 2:08 PM > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" > > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Hana M. Bizek" > > > <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > > How would you like it, if Jessica, I, Mirek and Josef started to > > > talk here in Czech, > > > > Ron, Jaap, Peter and Ton started talking un Dutch, the Japanese > > > > started talking in their language... > > > > > > It would be perfectly fine if they couldn't speak English. Sounds > > to > > > me like that's Johann's case. > > > > Then Johan should perhaps send an email to one of his English- > > speaking countrymen and ask for a translation. > > > > This is what I tell my own countrymen: English language is the King > > of the mainstream Internet. If you want rhe full benefit of rhe > > Internet, you have to know English. > > Hana a kosrtky > > BTW, English is not my native languag, either, so please don't acuse > > me of ramming it down anyone's throat. :-) > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > >

They (Meffert's 3x3 assembly) are also good for underwater cubing, especially since they're all plastic (and some glue). Stefan

----- Original Message ----- From: "Josef Jelinek" <gloom@...> To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 7:48 PM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? Probably none, because you do not have a chance to succeed in getting worn out cubes in the Czech Republic. (Me, my friends and other people tried it quite hard.) In addition, not many people in this group that understand Czech live in the Czech Republic (except for me). Josef ???????????? R --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Rune Wesström <rune.wesstrom@h...> wrote: > If yoy should ask - via internet - people in Czechia to send you worn out cubes, in what language would you write? > R > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> > To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 2:08 PM > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" > > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Hana M. Bizek" > > > <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > > How would you like it, if Jessica, I, Mirek and Josef started to > > > talk here in Czech, > > > > Ron, Jaap, Peter and Ton started talking un Dutch, the Japanese > > > > started talking in their language... > > > > > > It would be perfectly fine if they couldn't speak English. Sounds > > to > > > me like that's Johann's case. > > > > Then Johan should perhaps send an email to one of his English- > > speaking countrymen and ask for a translation. > > > > This is what I tell my own countrymen: English language is the King > > of the mainstream Internet. If you want rhe full benefit of rhe > > Internet, you have to know English. > > Hana a kosrtky > > BTW, English is not my native languag, either, so please don't acuse > > me of ramming it down anyone's throat. :-) > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

I just noticed something pretty cool, I was wondering if other people use the same logic on big cubes? I ran into a problem on a 9x9x9, two edge center peices were swapped out with all other edges grouped together fine. I guessed that this was a parity error, and then I noticed that since everything else was together, I could treat this like a 5x5x5, the same way I solve a 5x5x5 like a 3x3x3 once all of the edges are grouped together and all of the centers solved. So I applied the alg I use for the parity error on the 5x5x5 ([Rr] U2) * 5 and it was put in a very-easy-to-solve state. So using my noggin paid off ;) Also, I broke my personal best AGAIN today with 33.66 seconds. I just started doing the cross on the bottom and using more triggers and this week I have gotten 4 or 5 sub<40s, the only I have ever gotten. Let that be a lesson, triggers == good ;) Doug

Hi Guys, and Gals, Since a) none of us will ever see but a very small fraction of the 43 quintillion possible positions, and b) none of us, to my knowledge, are using anything even approaching God's Algorithm in speedcubing, I have begun to wonder a few things which might be useful to know. What is the fewest number of turns in random scrambles before people start to get a significant number of lucky solves? Related to this is: what is the fewest number of turns neede to look fairly thoroughly scrambled? One I found is 8 moves: r' u2 F' B' R U L U. If you memorize this 8 move scramble you can start with a solved cube toss it in the air, do the scramble, toss it in the air, the speedsolve it. David J P.S. For those recently bitten by a moose or subject to flatulence, "toss it in the air" in this case does not imply failing to catch it.

Czech, of course. What else? People hold on tight to their cubes there, because they are not easily available Worn-out cubes can be refurbished. Hana a kostky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Rune Wesström <rune.wesstrom@h...> wrote: > If yoy should ask - via internet - people in Czechia to send you worn out cubes, in what language would you write? > R > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> > To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 2:08 PM > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" > > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Hana M. Bizek" > > > <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > > How would you like it, if Jessica, I, Mirek and Josef started to > > > talk here in Czech, > > > > Ron, Jaap, Peter and Ton started talking un Dutch, the Japanese > > > > started talking in their language... > > > > > > It would be perfectly fine if they couldn't speak English. Sounds > > to > > > me like that's Johann's case. > > > > Then Johan should perhaps send an email to one of his English- > > speaking countrymen and ask for a translation. > > > > This is what I tell my own countrymen: English language is the King > > of the mainstream Internet. If you want rhe full benefit of rhe > > Internet, you have to know English. > > Hana a kosrtky > > BTW, English is not my native languag, either, so please don't acuse > > me of ramming it down anyone's throat. :-) > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > >

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Rune Wesström <rune.wesstrom@h...> wrote: > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Josef Jelinek" <gloom@e...> > To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 7:48 PM > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > Probably none, because you do not have a chance to succeed > in getting worn out cubes in the Czech Republic. > (Me, my friends and other people tried it quite hard.) > In addition, not many people in this group that understand > Czech live in the Czech Republic (except for me). and Milan Vodicka. > > Josef > > ???????????? I think what Josef meant is that people in Czech Republic would appreciate a worn-out cube, if they could find one. The Czechs here mostly ive abroad, so they cannot appreciate the agony of a cuber without a cube. A while ago I received an email from a Czech cuber, if I could help him find that little store that sold them. I replied that I do not live in CR and sent him online. Hana a kostky > R > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Rune Wesström > <rune.wesstrom@h...> wrote: > > If yoy should ask - via internet - people in Czechia to send you > worn out cubes, in what language would you write? > > R > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> > > To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> > > Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 2:08 PM > > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael > Atkinson" > > > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Hana M. Bizek" > > > > <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > > > How would you like it, if Jessica, I, Mirek and Josef > started to > > > > talk here in Czech, > > > > > Ron, Jaap, Peter and Ton started talking un Dutch, the > Japanese > > > > > started talking in their language... > > > > > > > > It would be perfectly fine if they couldn't speak English. > Sounds > > > to > > > > me like that's Johann's case. > > > > > > Then Johan should perhaps send an email to one of his English- > > > speaking countrymen and ask for a translation. > > > > > > This is what I tell my own countrymen: English language is the > King > > > of the mainstream Internet. If you want rhe full benefit of rhe > > > Internet, you have to know English. > > > Hana a kosrtky > > > BTW, English is not my native languag, either, so please don't > acuse > > > me of ramming it down anyone's throat. :-) > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

<ignore when='not interested'> Well, my answer to the direct question is: No. Jelinek is really quite common name in the Czech Republic and it is pure Czech name, so that Jelinek was probably originally from Czechoslovakia (today non-existing federation of Czech Rep. and Slovakia) or so were his father or grandfather... It is quite funny, that neither Jelinek nor Schneider are typical names for Australian or Hungarian. ;) Josef </ignore> --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Rune Wesström <rune.wesstrom@h...> wrote: > Just a question "off the record". > In the 30´s there was a famous bridge player, Jelinek, member of the Austrian-Hungarian "wonderteam". (Jelinek-Schneider). > Is he known to you? > R > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Josef Jelinek" <gloom@e...> > To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2004 3:15 PM > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Jelinek Josef Applet Trouble > > > > Well, I think that I can, since I am Josef Jelinek. > > > > First look at the new version of the Applet and the new page: > > > > http://software.rubikscube.info/AnimCube/ > > > > There are many examples of use there. And quite a lot of work > > was done recently. > > I would like to here any feedback from anyone! > > > > Josef > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant > > <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > > Can anyone help me with the rubiks applet by Jelinek > > > Josef? I'm confused as to how to work with it. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > >

There are, in fact, foreign-language groips, both here and in USENET. I have been a ember of dsome Czech groups. Hwre ine my find a groupo, tryingtolearnczech, that calls for help in masteri g that language. They say it is 'difficult' I say it is the second easiest language in the world. Hana a kostky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, j_rueth <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Do we have it posted somewhere that this group is for people who know > english? I don't remember seeing anything like that. I personally > dont have a problem with people using a different language, just as > long as someone follows up the message in english to let us know what > is going on. If it bothers people too much than maybe there should > be seperate club for different languages or something and keep the > groups strictly one language. I dunno... > > Jake

Hello! I'm something of a newbie-ish cuber. I found this list a couple days ago and thought, 'hey, cool, mailing list about Rubik's Cubes' so I joined, but...I can solve a Rubik's Cube in about ten minutes (using a solution I found on the internet. I'm not good enough, not patient enough to have figured it out myself. :)). I thought ten minutes was quick, but I join the list, and you all talk about solving the cube in under a minute. I ask, 'how?????' I didn't even know it was humanly possible to solve a Rubik's Cube that quickly!!! Does anyone have any tips to help me solve faster? ---Etak P.S. What is supercubing? Could someone please explain. Thank you. ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca

Hi, It's always great to have a new face. You're just another mind we're sucking into the world of the cube... we're going to take over the world! MWHAHAHA! Anyway, the main thing to solve faster is just to practice. I don't know what method you use, but most likely it's a relatively basic method. With practice, you should be able to memorize everything and execute all the moves pretty quickly and probably get down to about a minute yourself. There are many methods out there. There's your basic layer-by- layer method. There's also an interesting corner-expansion type method by Lars Petrus which can be found at http://lar5.com/cube/. Another famous method out there is by Jessica Fridrich and her website can be found at http://www.ws.binghamton.edu/fridrich/ cube.html. If you ever need help with anything, don't hesitate to ask. As for Supercubing, I believe our resident expert is Chris Hardwick. On some cubes, they come with pictures. When solving these cubes, it is necessary to orient the centers so that all the pictures match. The idea behind supercubing is basically to not only place all the pieces in the right place but also to orient all of them. This becomes quite a task with larger cubes. So, keep on practicing! Basically, if you put time into the cube, your time will drop. Have fun! -Tyson --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Etak <tarnagona@y...> wrote: > Hello! > I'm something of a newbie-ish cuber. I found this > list a couple days ago and thought, 'hey, cool, > mailing list about Rubik's Cubes' so I joined, but...I > can solve a Rubik's Cube in about ten minutes (using a > solution I found on the internet. I'm not good > enough, not patient enough to have figured it out > myself. :)). I thought ten minutes was quick, but I > join the list, and you all talk about solving the cube > in under a minute. I ask, 'how?????' I didn't even > know it was humanly possible to solve a Rubik's Cube > that quickly!!! Does anyone have any tips to help me > solve faster? > ---Etak > P.S. What is supercubing? Could someone please > explain. Thank you. > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca

----- Original Message ----- From: "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@earthlink.net> To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2004 2:25 AM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? Czech, of course. What else? People hold on tight to their cubes there, because they are not easily available Worn-out cubes can be refurbished. Hana a kostky If a Swede would ask - via internet - people in Sweden, where in Sweden to buy cubes, in what language should he write? R --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Rune Wesström <rune.wesstrom@h...> wrote: > If yoy should ask - via internet - people in Czechia to send you worn out cubes, in what language would you write? > R > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> > To: <speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 2:08 PM > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Re: Någon svensk? > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" > > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Hana M. Bizek" > > > <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > > How would you like it, if Jessica, I, Mirek and Josef started to > > > talk here in Czech, > > > > Ron, Jaap, Peter and Ton started talking un Dutch, the Japanese > > > > started talking in their language... > > > > > > It would be perfectly fine if they couldn't speak English. Sounds > > to > > > me like that's Johann's case. > > > > Then Johan should perhaps send an email to one of his English- > > speaking countrymen and ask for a translation. > > > > This is what I tell my own countrymen: English language is the King > > of the mainstream Internet. If you want rhe full benefit of rhe > > Internet, you have to know English. > > Hana a kosrtky > > BTW, English is not my native languag, either, so please don't acuse > > me of ramming it down anyone's throat. :-) > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Hey everyone, Just a few things. Before I officially announce the Caltech Spring Tournament 2004 (scheduled for April 3), I was thinking since we'll probably have a bit more time (more lounge time) and we'll probably be more efficient because we can learn from the last tournament's mistakes, that we should have another sideshow event such as one-handed solving or something else. (I can hear kenneth yelling rubik's magic!) So... I'd like to allow you guys to suggest such an event... Furthermore, this is especially for Chris, as our next tournament will be "official" in that all records set will be acknowledged as official world records, I'd like to bring the idea of the Average of 10 (12 solves, average middle 10) as an official category. We all know how meaningless single solves are. Anyway, what are your thoughts on this? Many thanks for Dave Jones for providing trophies! -Tyson

Yes, it is amazing when you read about what the top cubers can do. I remember when I first discovered this group. At the time, I could solve in a minute on a good day, but I was probably averaging around 75 seconds. I also thought I was reasonably fast, but then I read about people solving in under 20 seconds and realised I wasn't so good after all. I was so amazed by how fast some people were, I couldn't imagine how anyone could be so good! But then after more practice, learning new algorithms, meeting (and being inspired by) speedcubers at the Rubik's World Championships last year, I now have a best time of 29.8 seconds (averaging mid-40's though). So now I have *some* concept of how the superfast cubers do it. :) Jasmine. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Etak <tarnagona@y...> wrote: > Hello! > I'm something of a newbie-ish cuber. I found this > list a couple days ago and thought, 'hey, cool, > mailing list about Rubik's Cubes' so I joined, but...I > can solve a Rubik's Cube in about ten minutes (using a > solution I found on the internet. I'm not good > enough, not patient enough to have figured it out > myself. :)). I thought ten minutes was quick, but I > join the list, and you all talk about solving the cube > in under a minute. I ask, 'how?????' I didn't even > know it was humanly possible to solve a Rubik's Cube > that quickly!!! Does anyone have any tips to help me > solve faster? > ---Etak > P.S. What is supercubing? Could someone please > explain. Thank you. > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca

Ok, I dont know If this is new or not but if it is I want to patent it (much like the lars patents except this one has a wee bit less imagination). Preface: I found myself in a situation this morning that I hate...two midpieces switched, ick...but for some reason my mind took over and I solved it in 5 moves to go on to OLL/PLL! Situation U=Solved L - F - R = [ 1 1 1 ] [ 2 2 2 ] [ 3 3 3 ] [ 1 1 3 ] [ 2 2 2 ] [ 1 3 3 ] [ x x x ] [ x x x ] [ x x x ] Solution = B2U2F2U2B2, or If I may name it (I just need to have ONE thing thats mine, if only to me) PalinalgTM (Palindromic Algorithm doesnt have that nice ring to it, sadly)Anywho, if its not new tell me, I'm a tad excited at the thought...that I solved a situation with my own logic (hopefully). Or, at least logic I wasn't predisposed to. boy, If excitement means this for my punctuation I should never get excited about English class. -Kyle- --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

:D sorry to dissappoint you, but I've used that for a long time. Although I most often do this: R2U2R2U2R2 . I never had a name for it though, so feel free to do so ;) /Gustav --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > Ok, I dont know If this is new or not but if it is I want to patent it (much like the lars patents except this one has a wee bit less imagination). Preface: I found myself in a situation this morning that I hate...two midpieces switched, ick...but for some reason my mind took over and I solved it in 5 moves to go on to OLL/PLL! Situation U=Solved L - F - R = [ 1 1 1 ] [ 2 2 2 ] [ 3 3 3 ] > > [ 1 1 3 ] [ 2 2 2 ] [ 1 3 3 ] > > [ x x x ] [ x x x ] [ x x x ] > > Solution = B2U2F2U2B2, or If I may name it (I just need to have ONE thing thats mine, if only to me) PalinalgTM (Palindromic Algorithm doesnt have that nice ring to it, sadly)Anywho, if its not new tell me, I'm a tad excited at the thought...that I solved a situation with my own logic (hopefully). Or, at least logic I wasn't predisposed to. boy, If excitement means this for my punctuation I should never get excited about English class. -Kyle- > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

darnit, oh well yours is different so I guess mine is similar in function yet nonetheless patentable, Palinalg it is! :D -Kyle Gustav Fredell <gufr5747@...> wrote: :D sorry to dissappoint you, but I've used that for a long time. Although I most often do this: R2U2R2U2R2 . I never had a name for it though, so feel free to do so ;) /Gustav --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant wrote: > > Ok, I dont know If this is new or not but if it is I want to patent it (much like the lars patents except this one has a wee bit less imagination). Preface: I found myself in a situation this morning that I hate...two midpieces switched, ick...but for some reason my mind took over and I solved it in 5 moves to go on to OLL/PLL! Situation U=Solved L - F - R = [ 1 1 1 ] [ 2 2 2 ] [ 3 3 3 ] > > [ 1 1 3 ] [ 2 2 2 ] [ 1 3 3 ] > > [ x x x ] [ x x x ] [ x x x ] > > Solution = B2U2F2U2B2, or If I may name it (I just need to have ONE thing thats mine, if only to me) PalinalgTM (Palindromic Algorithm doesnt have that nice ring to it, sadly)Anywho, if its not new tell me, I'm a tad excited at the thought...that I solved a situation with my own logic (hopefully). Or, at least logic I wasn't predisposed to. boy, If excitement means this for my punctuation I should never get excited about English class. -Kyle- > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Links --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Welcome back! That robot project sounds interesting, I'll be waiting to hear how it turns out. Oh, and a lot of us tried mirror cubing. After practicing it for about fifteen minutes, I started getting dizzy. :) --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, redkbrandon <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Well after about 8 months and 4000 messages I am once again a > regular member of this group!! I believe it was during finals week > at the end of the last school year when I last visited this site > once a day. Since then I had a great summer skimboarding every day, > I went to the World Rubik's Championships, and started my senior > year at the University of California, Irvine. Since the World > Championships I have neglected my cube. It all changed when I > started this semester taking my Senior Design Project. I am > designing a robot that manipulates a Rubik's cube out of Legos. > Very much like JP Brown's Lego Cube Solver. Mine is different > because we have to design the circuitry as well. One day I might > put a camera on it and have it solve the cube by itself, but I see > no need too. (Besides I can solve it :) ) Anyway I hope to > improve my speed-cubing times and bring down my average. > > Have a nice day, > -Kenneth > > ps anyone try mirror cubing yet?

Hi! Now I've Started a Group in Swedish for all who's interested! Please spread the word to all swedesh cubers on the site since I don't know them yet!;) Have a Nice day! Johan

Hey guys and gals. I've been cubing since I was in 7th grade ( I'm a freshman in college now ), but I only know a slow method for solving it, on average, taking me about 1:30 or so, although I've gotten close to 1:00 without lucky breaks. My method that I learned (from a friend of mine) is roughly this: I place 4 corners on the top, orienting them the right way. Then the 4 corners on the bottom. Then 3 edges on top, leaving one open to allow me to put 3 edges in the bottom. I then place the remainging top and bottom edge in at the same time. So at this point, the top and bottom layer is solved completely, with the edges in the middle layer in wrong places. I then place them in the correct spots, and orient them if needed. Averaging about 1:30.... anyway, on to the real question: Given my background, which speed method would potentially be easiest for me to learn, and where can I find it? Thanks in advance for all your help! ~Wes

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, grndayfan6 <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey guys and gals. I've been cubing since I was in 7th grade ( I'm a > freshman in college now ), but I only know a slow method for solving > it, on average, taking me about 1:30 or so, although I've gotten > close to 1:00 without lucky breaks. My method that I learned (from a > friend of mine) is roughly this: I place 4 corners on the top, > orienting them the right way. Then the 4 corners on the bottom. Then > 3 edges on top, leaving one open to allow me to put 3 edges in the > bottom. I then place the remainging top and bottom edge in at the > same time. So at this point, the top and bottom layer is solved > completely, with the edges in the middle layer in wrong places. I > then place them in the correct spots, and orient them if needed. > Averaging about 1:30.... anyway, on to the real question: Given my > background, which speed method would potentially be easiest for me to > learn, and where can I find it? Thanks in advance for all your help! > > ~Wes Hello Wes, Welcome aboard. Your method of solving is close to what Enro Rubik first worked out. You might want to join http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CornersFirst/ Dvid J

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, grndayfan6 <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey guys and gals. I've been cubing since I was in 7th grade ( I'm a > freshman in college now ), but I only know a slow method for solving > it, on average, taking me about 1:30 or so, although I've gotten > close to 1:00 without lucky breaks. My method that I learned (from a > friend of mine) is roughly this: I place 4 corners on the top, > orienting them the right way. Then the 4 corners on the bottom. Then > 3 edges on top, leaving one open to allow me to put 3 edges in the > bottom. I then place the remainging top and bottom edge in at the > same time. So at this point, the top and bottom layer is solved > completely, with the edges in the middle layer in wrong places. I > then place them in the correct spots, and orient them if needed. > Averaging about 1:30.... anyway, on to the real question: Given my > background, which speed method would potentially be easiest for me to > learn, and where can I find it? Thanks in advance for all your help! > > ~Wes Hi Wes well you came to the right place. You pretty much are solving a good method. Your method easily translates in to a good corners first method that I use. Here is my method: First: Solve the first four corners, followed by the same edges. (When finished the first layer should be done minus one edge.) Second: Solve the other corners. (Just like you already do) Third: Use the keyhole in the first layer to solve the edges for the third layer. (Just like you already do) Fourth: Finish just like you already do. The only difference is that I can solve the second 4 corners in one alg. Here is the website that I learned the algs from: http://www.speedcubing.com/corners_first_corners.html This method is very good; I average around 25s a cube. It took me about 3 months of cubing from where you are to get about 30s a cube. (and another 3 to get to 25s) If you need any other help feel free to email me directly at kbrandon@... Hope this helps, Kenneth

> solving or something else. (I can hear kenneth yelling rubik's >magic!) RUBIK'S MAGIC!!!!!! I got 2.3s on the speedstack timer while I was at Caltech. (Third try) I think sub 2s is possible, on the speedstack timers. Also we could have a 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 comp. The downfalls are that they take more time (much more time) and many people don't have them. I think one handed is a good idea because anyone can do that. -Kenneth

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, grndayfan6 <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey guys and gals. I've been cubing since I was in 7th grade ( I'm a > freshman in college now ), but I only know a slow method for solving > it, on average, taking me about 1:30 or so, although I've gotten > close to 1:00 without lucky breaks. My method that I learned (from a > friend of mine) is roughly this: I place 4 corners on the top, > orienting them the right way. Then the 4 corners on the bottom. Then > 3 edges on top, leaving one open to allow me to put 3 edges in the > bottom. I then place the remainging top and bottom edge in at the > same time. So at this point, the top and bottom layer is solved > completely, with the edges in the middle layer in wrong places. I > then place them in the correct spots, and orient them if needed. > Averaging about 1:30.... anyway, on to the real question: Given my > background, which speed method would potentially be easiest for me to > learn, and where can I find it? Thanks in advance for all your help! > > ~Wes First off welcome to the group! You should probably stick with the corners first method, although you could try some other approaches such as the fridrich method ( http://www.ws.binghamton.edu/fridrich/cube.html ) or the Petrus method ( http://www.lar5.com/cube/index.html ). The corners first method you use is a pretty good one, I know that method as well and have about a 45-50 second average with it. Its not my fastest method though. There are some REALLY fast corners first methods out there. A few of the main things you could do to speed up your current method is to make sure you have a good cube! Most of use use silicone spray to make our cubes SOO much smoother turning, and be able to look ahead and find the pieces you need before you actually need them. Finger tricks are a huge help also. well thats just the tip of the ice burg...... -Heath

trivial algs don't need names. -Richard --- Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@...> wrote: > darnit, oh well yours is different so I guess mine > is similar in function yet nonetheless patentable, > Palinalg it is! > :D > -Kyle > > > Gustav Fredell <gufr5747@...> wrote: > :D sorry to dissappoint you, but I've used that for > a long time. > Although I most often do this: R2U2R2U2R2 . I never > had a name for > it though, so feel free to do so ;) > > /Gustav > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle > Bryant > wrote: > > > > Ok, I dont know If this is new or not but if it is > I want to > patent it (much like the lars patents except this > one has a wee bit > less imagination). Preface: I found myself in a > situation this > morning that I hate...two midpieces switched, > ick...but for some > reason my mind took over and I solved it in 5 moves > to go on to > OLL/PLL! Situation U=Solved L - F - R = [ 1 1 1 ] [ > 2 2 2 ] [ 3 3 > 3 ] > > > > [ 1 1 3 ] [ 2 2 2 ] [ 1 3 3 ] > > > > [ x x x ] [ x x x ] [ x x x ] > > > > Solution = B2U2F2U2B2, or If I may name it (I just > need to have > ONE thing thats mine, if only to me) PalinalgTM > (Palindromic > Algorithm doesnt have that nice ring to it, > sadly)Anywho, if its not > new tell me, I'm a tad excited at the thought...that > I solved a > situation with my own logic (hopefully). Or, at > least logic I wasn't > predisposed to. boy, If excitement means this for my > punctuation I > should never get excited about English class. -Kyle- > > > > > > --------------------------------- > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > online > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > online > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

I was going to email Chris directly about this, but I couldn't get an email thru to him for some reason. Here's what I wrote up, so anyone's free to take a shot. ... This is my method for supercubing::: 1st step= build 3/4 of cross. (making sure also to orient the center that the cross is being built around) 2nd step= make up turns and use your free space to orient the 4 side centers correctly. I say correctly in the sense that, 3 centers will actually be oriented corrctly, and the last will be oriented in such a way that when the remaining edge is put in the center will become correct. (i hope i explained this well enough) 3rd step= F2L...none of my f2l algs tamper with the centers, so your f2l remains fluid just like normal solving. 4th step=orient everything (i use two steps) Most of my orientation algs are not center destructive. *note- The idea is that after orienting the 5 centers in the beginning, that you don't tamper with them the remainder of the solve. That means your last center will either end up solved or 180* off. *2nd note-my approach makes it essential that all LL algs used only effect the permutation of the LL center, no other centers. 5th step=permute everything (1-2 steps) it will take me two steps sometimes if i know the alg will ruin center orientation, although i haven't done enough to find out which permutations will do that. thnx -Richard

I know...humor me for a while and the excitement will pass. :D K --- Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@...> wrote: > trivial algs don't need names. > -Richard > --- Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@...> wrote: > > darnit, oh well yours is different so I guess mine > > is similar in function yet nonetheless patentable, > > Palinalg it is! > > :D > > -Kyle > > > > > > Gustav Fredell <gufr5747@...> wrote: > > :D sorry to dissappoint you, but I've used that > for > > a long time. > > Although I most often do this: R2U2R2U2R2 . I > never > > had a name for > > it though, so feel free to do so ;) > > > > /Gustav > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > Kyle > > Bryant > > wrote: > > > > > > Ok, I dont know If this is new or not but if it > is > > I want to > > patent it (much like the lars patents except this > > one has a wee bit > > less imagination). Preface: I found myself in a > > situation this > > morning that I hate...two midpieces switched, > > ick...but for some > > reason my mind took over and I solved it in 5 > moves > > to go on to > > OLL/PLL! Situation U=Solved L - F - R = [ 1 1 1 ] > [ > > 2 2 2 ] [ 3 3 > > 3 ] > > > > > > [ 1 1 3 ] [ 2 2 2 ] [ 1 3 3 ] > > > > > > [ x x x ] [ x x x ] [ x x x ] > > > > > > Solution = B2U2F2U2B2, or If I may name it (I > just > > need to have > > ONE thing thats mine, if only to me) PalinalgTM > > (Palindromic > > Algorithm doesnt have that nice ring to it, > > sadly)Anywho, if its not > > new tell me, I'm a tad excited at the > thought...that > > I solved a > > situation with my own logic (hopefully). Or, at > > least logic I wasn't > > predisposed to. boy, If excitement means this for > my > > punctuation I > > should never get excited about English class. > -Kyle- > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > > > Do you Yahoo!? > > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > > online > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > > removed] > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > > online > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > > removed] > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > online. > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

Hey Richard! It's good to see more people getting into supercubing! Now that I've started doing the supercubes (4x4, and 5x5) I really feel like we're almost cheating ourselves out of most of the fun of speedcubing with the normal cubes. My times are a lot slower for each type of supercube, but to me it is soooo much more fun to solve the supercube versions. I think if someone were to dedicate themselves to the 3x3x3 supercube like most everyone has to the normal 3x3x3, then there would be people who could average 17 seconds on it. *ahem* 3x3x3 Top ten list people :) My theories of a "perfect" method (there are many of course) based around the Fridrich method would be to direct solve the cross and the first 5 centers (maybe 1 or 2 seconds more on average than normal with lots of practice). The F2L could then be done normally except you'd have to use fewer empty slot algs as they affect centers most of the time. The OLLs could be done just as fast as they are normally, however you would have to make sure that all of your algs affect only the last layer center (so 40 algs required still). Then for the PLLs you would have to have one alg memorized for each permutation and center orientation. There are 4!*(4!/2!) =288 positions the last layer can be in on a supercube after all the pieces are oriented correctly, assuming you first turn the top layer so that the center is correct. There are technically 1152 LL positions if the pieces are all oriented correctly, but you can rotate the U layer and technicaly create 4 different positions out of really just 1 LL setup. I hope that made sense. Of course there are lots of symmetries in these positions, but I haven't counted the number of algs you would have to learn. The edge 3 cycle and corner 3 cycle permutations together would require 8 unique algs (16 if you count reflections). I'd like to count the exact number soon, as I am considering learning the algs required to complete this method if there aren't too many. Anyway that was a long explanation. Richard the method you described is almost exactly what I do in my supercubing. When I do no inspection solves I almost always do the F2L exactly like you describe. If I am doing solves with inspection I like to direct solve the cross and first 5 centers. You can do this in around 12 moves usually, sometimes as few as a normal 3x3x3 cross solve. For the LL I always do OLL then PLL though, then fix the 2 centers that get messed up. Since the cube centers are conserved throughout the F2L (try to avoid most emtpy slot cases to increase the likelihood of this), then the OLLs only sometimes mess up a center, which means you have to flip 3 centers in the end sometimes. Since the top layer center only has a 1/4 chance of being solved for each PLL, and since it seems a lot fo the PLL's flip a middle layer center, then most of the time you end up with two centers in the end that need to flip. I've thought about turning the top layer so that the center is correct, then doing the required algs, but my alg for the Z permuation flips the centers, so if the edges are in the Z perm, then not only do I have to fix the corners and edges in separate steps, but I still have to correct the centers at the end. Also I tried that startegy for a while, but for some reason it seemed slower to me. I think both strategies would take about the same amount of time really. I guess it is more of a personal choice. Anyway, I think your method is great for speed supercubing. I'm still not very good at fewest moves supercubing, talk to Mr. Fredlund for that, he is the master of 3x3x3 fewest moves supercubing as far as I know. That's so awesome to hear of others trying out supercubing! I strongly recommend you try larger cube super cubing as well, it is a LOT of fun. If there aren't too many LL algs to learn to complete the "expert" super cubing method as I like to think of it, maybe we can get some really fast people to learn them. I'd like to learn the algs if there aren't too many and see how fast I can get on the supercube, but I think it would be awesome to see what you guys who can average 15-16 seconds would pull on a supercube. I think consistent sub-20 averages on the super cube would be possible if you learned all the algs. Also would anyone be interested in competitive supercubing, at an official competition I mean? I think that would be a cool secondary event if there was enough time. Anyway, just food for thought. Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "richy_jr_2000" <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > I was going to email Chris directly about this, but I couldn't get > an email thru to him for some reason. Here's what I wrote up, so > anyone's free to take a shot. > ... > This is my method for supercubing::: > > 1st step= build 3/4 of cross. (making sure also to > orient the center that the cross is being built > around) > > 2nd step= make up turns and use your free space to > orient the 4 side centers correctly. I say correctly > in the sense that, 3 centers will actually be oriented > corrctly, and the last will be oriented in such a way > that when the remaining edge is put in the center will > become correct. (i hope i explained this well enough) > > 3rd step= F2L...none of my f2l algs tamper with the > centers, so your f2l remains fluid just like normal > solving. > > 4th step=orient everything (i use two steps) Most of > my orientation algs are not center destructive. > > *note- The idea is that after orienting the 5 centers > in the beginning, that you don't tamper with them the > remainder of the solve. That means your last center > will either end up solved or 180* off. > *2nd note-my approach makes it essential that all LL > algs used only effect the permutation of the LL > center, no other centers. > > 5th step=permute everything (1-2 steps) it will take > me two steps sometimes if i know the alg will ruin > center orientation, although i haven't done enough to > find out which permutations will do that. > > thnx > -Richard

Hello again, everyone! Thanks for your quick replies, they were VERY helpful. I'm very much relieved to hear that my current method is a decent one to start out with, especially if I can consolidate my method in some places ( like Brandon said, doing my 2nd 4 corners in one algorithm. That certainly seems feasible. Thanks Brandon! ). Well, I'm off to look at some links that you provided me, and hopefully (certainly) I'll be posting details of my steady improvement :-) Thanks again!

In my previous post, I thanked "Brandon" for his help, although he signed his post "Kenneth." I think I was confused by your yahoo name that's "RedkBrandon" or something similar. Sorry 'bout that. Thanks Kenneth!

Ok, only a few seconds into glancing at the Corners-First final layer corners algorithm page, I have a quick question: After the table, there's a note that says that some of these algorithms may disturb the edges on the top layer. That leads me to believe that it would be advantageous to do corners on top, corners on bottom (using the algorithm), then doing edges top then bottom, then center, like previously discussed. However, in reading your summary of your method, Kenneth, I think you said that you do the top corners, then edges, and then the bottom corners. If so, wouldn't it happen that every now and then you're required to use an algorithm (for the bottom layer corners) that potentially disturbs the edges on top? Of course, I very well could have misread something somewhere, so forgive me if I'm jumping to conclusions :-) ~Wes

48.94!!!! finally sub50! __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > 48.94!!!! finally sub50! > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html congrats....must be the new alg you found haha

yeah, I actually was just excited to have done something all by myself :D however, the instance is so rare its really negligible when it comes down to it. Im now glad to have once again broken my own record :) --- Heath <funny_guy32@...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle > Bryant > <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > 48.94!!!! finally sub50! > > > > > > __________________________________ > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > online. > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > congrats....must be the new alg you found haha > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

Hello, first, you can also look at my temprorary pages describing (with little explanation text, though) corner-first method for beginners: http://rubikscube.info (it will change) and for advanced: http://rubikscube.info/ortega.html I work also on Marc Waterman's method description (I would not like to release incomplete version.. However here it is: http://rubikscube.info/waterman/) This method is an expert "corners first" method and I optimized it a little compared to the published version. To answer your question: there are three or four sets of algorithms in use that orients and permute top layer corners in one step: 1. orient and permute top corners, ignore all edges - used for pure corner-first methods 2. orient and permute top corners, ignore edges except for bottom ones - used e.g. in Waterman's method 3. orient and permute top corners, ignore top edges - used e.g. in Guus Razoux Schultz's method (layered) 4. orient and permute top corners, other cubies intact - have not seen such a method These sets are not disjoint and many optimal algorithms fall into first two or three cases. The optimal lengths of the same algorithms in case A and B are: if A < B then lengthInA <= lengthInB You can use the first case. However Kenneth probably uses the second case. The speedcubing.com covers the first three cases. Best regards, Josef --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, grndayfan6 <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Ok, only a few seconds into glancing at the Corners-First final layer > corners algorithm page, I have a quick question: After the table, > there's a note that says that some of these algorithms may disturb > the edges on the top layer. That leads me to believe that it would be > advantageous to do corners on top, corners on bottom (using the > algorithm), then doing edges top then bottom, then center, like > previously discussed. However, in reading your summary of your > method, Kenneth, I think you said that you do the top corners, then > edges, and then the bottom corners. If so, wouldn't it happen that > every now and then you're required to use an algorithm (for the > bottom layer corners) that potentially disturbs the edges on top? Of > course, I very well could have misread something somewhere, so > forgive me if I'm jumping to conclusions :-) > > ~Wes

The instance is a little less rare, if you consider even the situations where corners are solved and one edge (e.g. FR) is in adjacent incorrect position (e.g. in FL instead of FR) and the other edge (e.g. FL) is anywhere else. Then by the five turns (F2U2F2U2F2) the edge can be solved. This is also quite rare. However, this sequence can be generalized to: F2 U2 F U2 F2 or F2 U2 F' U2 F2 These sequences are useful when you need to solve an edge in the top layer (e.g. FR edge in FU position) and the corresponding corner (e.g. DFR) is already solved + the adjacent corner (e.g. DFL) is already solver + the adjecent edge (e.g. FL) is NOT solved. This sequence can be used by people that first solve the top (in this case bottom) layer and ther the middle layer. This sequence can be used for 2 or 3 middle edges and saves some moves. The remaining edges can be solved using standard: R U R' U' F' U' F or F U F U F U' F' U' F' Josef --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > yeah, I actually was just excited to have done > something all by myself :D however, the instance is so > rare its really negligible when it comes down to it. > > Im now glad to have once again broken my own record > :) > --- Heath <funny_guy32@h...> wrote: > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle > > Bryant > > <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > > 48.94!!!! finally sub50! > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > > Do you Yahoo!? > > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > > online. > > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > congrats....must be the new alg you found haha > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

Hey everyone, I just added a cup stacking list to the UWR. Personally I enjoy cup stacking just by itself because I think it is fun, but I also think it is a useful drill for improving your "slow fast" technique(s) on intuitive steps of the cube. When I asked about it before I seemed to only get positive responses, or at least no negative responses, to adding a list on UWR so I decided to try it. If anyone else does cup stacking, feel free to post your times to UWR. Chris

I wish I could get some speedstacks.... Oh well. Cupstacking isn't a puzzle, so does this mean that some non-puzzle records will now be allowed? Because I was pondering submitting my Bop-It record to the UWR. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey everyone, I just added a cup stacking list to the UWR. > Personally I enjoy cup stacking just by itself because I think it is > fun, but I also think it is a useful drill for improving your "slow > fast" technique(s) on intuitive steps of the cube. > > When I asked about it before I seemed to only get positive responses, > or at least no negative responses, to adding a list on UWR so I > decided to try it. > > If anyone else does cup stacking, feel free to post your times to UWR. > > Chris

In which category is it? Btw, I searched through "Fun Records" and saw that Dan Harris is now the only 6-cubes-underwater cuber. There used to be another one and he even had a video of it online. Why did he disappear from the list? Stefan

It says on the list that one 'scratch' is allowed. Is this just where you screw up? Or something else? --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey everyone, I just added a cup stacking list to the UWR. > Personally I enjoy cup stacking just by itself because I think it is > fun, but I also think it is a useful drill for improving your "slow > fast" technique(s) on intuitive steps of the cube. > > When I asked about it before I seemed to only get positive responses, > or at least no negative responses, to adding a list on UWR so I > decided to try it. > > If anyone else does cup stacking, feel free to post your times to UWR. > > Chris

Isn't the official general term "fumble"? I think I remember them saying "And remember, always fix your fumbles" in the training video DVD. Btw, I found a funny site when googling for "fix your fumbles": http://www.vcbkids.org/speedstacks/just4fun.htm Cheers! Stefan --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > It says on the list that one 'scratch' is allowed. Is this just where > you screw up? Or something else?

It's in 'Other Puzzles.' The other underwater cuber used to be Gilles Roux. I'm also curious why his record isn't there anymore. His record actually isn't anywhere anymore on UWR. Here's his site with the video: http://grrroux.free.fr/ --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > In which category is it? > > Btw, I searched through "Fun Records" and saw that Dan Harris is now > the only 6-cubes-underwater cuber. There used to be another one and > he even had a video of it online. Why did he disappear from the list? > > Stefan

Hey Kyle well done on finding an algorithm even if it is one already known. Its the most fun part of speedcubing for some of us and I guess you already experienced the excitement of finding something really useful. Don't give upon it! Duncan ----- Original Message ----- From: Kyle Bryant To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 2:30 AM Subject: Re: [Speed cubing group] New Algorithm? I know...humor me for a while and the excitement will pass. :D K --- Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@...> wrote: > trivial algs don't need names. > -Richard > --- Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@...> wrote: > > darnit, oh well yours is different so I guess mine > > is similar in function yet nonetheless patentable, > > Palinalg it is! > > :D > > -Kyle > > > > > > Gustav Fredell <gufr5747@...> wrote: > > :D sorry to dissappoint you, but I've used that > for > > a long time. > > Although I most often do this: R2U2R2U2R2 . I > never > > had a name for > > it though, so feel free to do so ;) > > > > /Gustav > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > Kyle > > Bryant > > wrote: > > > > > > Ok, I dont know If this is new or not but if it > is > > I want to > > patent it (much like the lars patents except this > > one has a wee bit > > less imagination). Preface: I found myself in a > > situation this > > morning that I hate...two midpieces switched, > > ick...but for some > > reason my mind took over and I solved it in 5 > moves > > to go on to > > OLL/PLL! Situation U=Solved L - F - R = [ 1 1 1 ] > [ > > 2 2 2 ] [ 3 3 > > 3 ] > > > > > > [ 1 1 3 ] [ 2 2 2 ] [ 1 3 3 ] > > > > > > [ x x x ] [ x x x ] [ x x x ] > > > > > > Solution = B2U2F2U2B2, or If I may name it (I > just > > need to have > > ONE thing thats mine, if only to me) PalinalgTM > > (Palindromic > > Algorithm doesnt have that nice ring to it, > > sadly)Anywho, if its not > > new tell me, I'm a tad excited at the > thought...that > > I solved a > > situation with my own logic (hopefully). Or, at > > least logic I wasn't > > predisposed to. boy, If excitement means this for > my > > punctuation I > > should never get excited about English class. > -Kyle- > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > > > Do you Yahoo!? > > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > > online > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > > removed] > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > > online > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > > removed] > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > online. > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks for your reply, Josef. It makes alot of sense, and will certainly help me lower my times. I'm going to also take a glance at the couple of pages you just posted for me, and see which one would be the most helpful for me to start with. Thanks again! Wes --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Josef Jelinek" <gloom@e...> wrote: > Hello, > > first, you can also look at my temprorary pages describing > (with little explanation text, though) corner-first method > for beginners: http://rubikscube.info (it will change) > and for advanced: http://rubikscube.info/ortega.html > I work also on Marc Waterman's method description > (I would not like to release incomplete version.. > However here it is: http://rubikscube.info/waterman/) > This method is an expert "corners first" method and > I optimized it a little compared to the published version. > > To answer your question: > there are three or four sets of algorithms in use that > orients and permute top layer corners in one step: > 1. orient and permute top corners, ignore all edges > - used for pure corner-first methods > 2. orient and permute top corners, ignore edges except for > bottom ones > - used e.g. in Waterman's method > 3. orient and permute top corners, ignore top edges > - used e.g. in Guus Razoux Schultz's method (layered) > 4. orient and permute top corners, other cubies intact > - have not seen such a method > These sets are not disjoint and many optimal algorithms > fall into first two or three cases. > The optimal lengths of the same algorithms in case A and B are: > if A < B then lengthInA <= lengthInB > > You can use the first case. > However Kenneth probably uses the second case. > The speedcubing.com covers the first three cases. > > Best regards, > > Josef >

I'll look into the thing with Gilles' record. Ron and I both update the pages now so maybe something went weird with us both updating that file. Also I would personally be in favor of creating some type of "Other stuff" Category, for stuff like speedstacks and Bop-it. I was trying to think of a good category to put the cup stuff into and I also agree that it is not a puzzle, so it doesn't really fit in other puzzles. I'll e-mail Ron and see what he would think of an "Other stuff" or "Miscellaneous" category. Also about the "one scratch allowed" I'm new to this too so I don't know the technical terms. I just kind of meant it as, if you totally screw up and knock down one of the larger pyramids and while stacking it again to fix it you accidently knock down another one, stuff like that. You don't have to accept something like a 55 second time, just count it as a screwup or scratch. I'll look at their official rules and see how they do it for screwups. Chris --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > It's in 'Other Puzzles.' > The other underwater cuber used to be Gilles Roux. I'm also curious > why his record isn't there anymore. His record actually isn't > anywhere anymore on UWR. > Here's his site with the video: http://grrroux.free.fr/ > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" > <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > In which category is it? > > > > Btw, I searched through "Fun Records" and saw that Dan Harris is > now > > the only 6-cubes-underwater cuber. There used to be another one and > > he even had a video of it online. Why did he disappear from the > list? > > > > Stefan

I agree with Duncan. In terms of credit some may say "Big deal, that's been found before." But if you found it on your own that is a big deal. Besides, naming is happenstance. Naming is often not by the first who found something but the first to publish a name. How many people here use only their own algorithms? What percentage of algs which you use are ones you figured out or found on your own? 100% 75% 50% 25% 10% Less Curious, David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Duncan Dicks" <duncan@d...> wrote: > Hey Kyle well done on finding an algorithm even if it is one already known. Its the most fun part of speedcubing for some of us and I guess you already experienced the excitement of finding something really useful. Don't give upon it! > > Duncan > > --- Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > > darnit, oh well yours is different so I guess mine > > > is similar in function yet nonetheless patentable, > > > Palinalg it is! > > > :D > > > -Kyle > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > > Kyle > > > Bryant > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > Ok, I dont know If this is new or not but if it > > is > > > I want to > > > patent it (much like the lars patents except this > > > one has a wee bit > > > less imagination). Preface: I found myself in a > > > situation this > > > morning that I hate...two midpieces switched, > > > ick...but for some > > > reason my mind took over and I solved it in 5 > > moves > > > to go on to > > > OLL/PLL! Situation U=Solved L - F - R = [ 1 1 1 ] > > [ > > > 2 2 2 ] [ 3 3 > > > 3 ] > > > > > > > > [ 1 1 3 ] [ 2 2 2 ] [ 1 3 3 ] > > > > > > > > [ x x x ] [ x x x ] [ x x x ] > > > > > > > > Solution = B2U2F2U2B2, or If I may name it (I > > just > > > need to have > > > ONE thing thats mine, if only to me) PalinalgTM > > > (Palindromic > > > Algorithm doesnt have that nice ring to it, > > > sadly)Anywho, if its not > > > new tell me, I'm a tad excited at the > > thought...that > > > I solved a > > > situation with my own logic (hopefully). Or, at > > > least logic I wasn't > > > predisposed to. boy, If excitement means this for > > my > > > punctuation I > > > should never get excited about English class. > > -Kyle- > >

Greetings, I seem to be headed in that direction: orienting and permuting top corners, leaving other cubies intact. For example, instead of using R U R' U' F' U' F, I use L' B' R B L B' R' B. And, no, I don't have the full set yet. David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Josef Jelinek" <gloom@e...> wrote: > Hello, > [snip] > 4. orient and permute top corners, other cubies intact - have not seen such a method > > Best regards, > > Josef > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, grndayfan6 > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > Ok, only a few seconds into glancing at the Corners-First final > layer > > corners algorithm page, I have a quick question: After the table, > > there's a note that says that some of these algorithms may disturb > > the edges on the top layer. [snip]

0% I am an Art Major with fast fingers... ;) ----- Original Message ----- From: d_j_salvia To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 11:50 AM Subject: Re: [Speed cubing group] New Algorithm? I agree with Duncan. In terms of credit some may say "Big deal, that's been found before." But if you found it on your own that is a big deal. Besides, naming is happenstance. Naming is often not by the first who found something but the first to publish a name. How many people here use only their own algorithms? What percentage of algs which you use are ones you figured out or found on your own? 100% 75% 50% 25% 10% Less Curious, David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Duncan Dicks" <duncan@d...> wrote: > Hey Kyle well done on finding an algorithm even if it is one already known. Its the most fun part of speedcubing for some of us and I guess you already experienced the excitement of finding something really useful. Don't give upon it! > > Duncan > > --- Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > > darnit, oh well yours is different so I guess mine > > > is similar in function yet nonetheless patentable, > > > Palinalg it is! > > > :D > > > -Kyle > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > > Kyle > > > Bryant > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > Ok, I dont know If this is new or not but if it > > is > > > I want to > > > patent it (much like the lars patents except this > > > one has a wee bit > > > less imagination). Preface: I found myself in a > > > situation this > > > morning that I hate...two midpieces switched, > > > ick...but for some > > > reason my mind took over and I solved it in 5 > > moves > > > to go on to > > > OLL/PLL! Situation U=Solved L - F - R = [ 1 1 1 ] > > [ > > > 2 2 2 ] [ 3 3 > > > 3 ] > > > > > > > > [ 1 1 3 ] [ 2 2 2 ] [ 1 3 3 ] > > > > > > > > [ x x x ] [ x x x ] [ x x x ] > > > > > > > > Solution = B2U2F2U2B2, or If I may name it (I > > just > > > need to have > > > ONE thing thats mine, if only to me) PalinalgTM > > > (Palindromic > > > Algorithm doesnt have that nice ring to it, > > > sadly)Anywho, if its not > > > new tell me, I'm a tad excited at the > > thought...that > > > I solved a > > > situation with my own logic (hopefully). Or, at > > > least logic I wasn't > > > predisposed to. boy, If excitement means this for > > my > > > punctuation I > > > should never get excited about English class. > > -Kyle- > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Apparently they're called fumbles: http://speedstacks.com/sport/how_to_stack/fumble.htm I also vote for a new miscellaneous category, for things that aren't necessarily puzzles. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > I'll look into the thing with Gilles' record. Ron and I both update > the pages now so maybe something went weird with us both updating > that file. > > Also I would personally be in favor of creating some type of "Other > stuff" Category, for stuff like speedstacks and Bop-it. I was > trying to think of a good category to put the cup stuff into and I > also agree that it is not a puzzle, so it doesn't really fit in > other puzzles. > > I'll e-mail Ron and see what he would think of an "Other stuff" > or "Miscellaneous" category. > > Also about the "one scratch allowed" I'm new to this too so I don't > know the technical terms. I just kind of meant it as, if you > totally screw up and knock down one of the larger pyramids and while > stacking it again to fix it you accidently knock down another one, > stuff like that. You don't have to accept something like a 55 > second time, just count it as a screwup or scratch. I'll look at > their official rules and see how they do it for screwups. > > Chris > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > It's in 'Other Puzzles.' > > The other underwater cuber used to be Gilles Roux. I'm also > curious > > why his record isn't there anymore. His record actually isn't > > anywhere anymore on UWR. > > Here's his site with the video: http://grrroux.free.fr/ > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" > > <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > > In which category is it? > > > > > > Btw, I searched through "Fun Records" and saw that Dan Harris is > > now > > > the only 6-cubes-underwater cuber. There used to be another one > and > > > he even had a video of it online. Why did he disappear from the > > list? > > > > > > Stefan

I think an other stuff cattegory is a good idea. There are many things that could be in there such as those wooden peice puzzles that you have to assemble. Cup stacking also seems like it should be in the same category as puzzles like rubik's magic because once you know the routine, it's all about speed and not really a puzzle. None the less they are still fun. I would like to become good at cup stacking - it sounds fun. --barefoot Chris PS just wondering if anyone here can type really fast. speedtyping seems to be the same type of challenge as speedstacking. > Also I would personally be in favor of creating some type of "Other > stuff" Category, for stuff like speedstacks and Bop-it. I was > trying to think of a good category to put the cup stuff into and I > also agree that it is not a puzzle, so it doesn't really fit in > other puzzles. > > Chris > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > It's in 'Other Puzzles.' > > The other underwater cuber used to be Gilles Roux. I'm also > curious > > why his record isn't there anymore. His record actually isn't > > anywhere anymore on UWR. > > Here's his site with the video: http://grrroux.free.fr/ > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" > > <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > > In which category is it? > > > > > > Btw, I searched through "Fun Records" and saw that Dan Harris is > > now > > > the only 6-cubes-underwater cuber. There used to be another one > and > > > he even had a video of it online. Why did he disappear from the > > list? > > > > > > Stefan

We've had a rubik's cube laying around the house for years and I never thought I could solve it but about 3 weeks ago I picked it up and followed a tutorial online that showed me how to do it. I've been hooked since then. I used the second method of solving on this website: http://jeays.net/rubiks.htm. I've gotten my time down to 1:15-1:45 and I'm trying to figure out where to go from here. I've been learning Jessica Fridrich's algorithms for the first two layers now. Is this the way to go? Should I be working on that now? Also, she says that you shouldn't hold the cross on the top, which I am accustomed to. Should I wait until I can solve it using her method and have a better understanding of the cube, THEN learn how to do it with the cross on the left, since I am accustomed to solving it with the cross on the top? Should I start solving it with the cross on the left/bottom from the beginning? Basically, where should I go from here? Thanks!

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> wrote: > I'll look into the thing with Gilles' record. Ron and I both update > the pages now so maybe something went weird with us both updating > that file. Hello Chris, Don't worry, everything's fine with the updates. I asked for the removal. I was just a bit fed up with records. Maybe I'll come back later. :-) Gilles.

whats this supercubing ...have`nt been in for a while pete

Hi, Duncan, I agree that seeking a new alg can be fun, but lot has been done in speedcubing. The time for uriginal discovery in this area was in the 80s when Jessica and Lars were formulating their strtegies. If you want to discover new things today, you should look into: computer cubing cbe code development cube art. I specilize in cube art. Drawing a picture of a Rubik's cube is not cube art, you musr actually use Rubik's cube as art medium. I do three dimensional stuctures, both cubical and non-cubical. The website to look at is http://wwww.design.rubikscube.info . I exhibited 3d designs in Toronto last yoer.I couldn't compete, because I had no rivals! No one could do it! I was thr only exhibitor. I left Toronto in a state of shock. Would you, as a mathmatician, happen to know of anyone who can do this? I have been asking this question of bazzilion people. Only one person answered yes. When I inquired after the name, he replied:"Hana bizek." :-) Discovery IS fun, that'swhy we have math and science. Hana a kostky

Just out of curiousity, why were you 'fed up' with the records? --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Gilles Roux" <grrroux@f...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cmhardw <no_reply@y...> > wrote: > > I'll look into the thing with Gilles' record. Ron and I both update > > the pages now so maybe something went weird with us both updating > > that file. > > Hello Chris, > > Don't worry, everything's fine with the updates. I asked for the > removal. I was just a bit fed up with records. Maybe I'll come back > later. :-) > > Gilles.

a while ago, i used to be able to solve the cube in less than a minute using the 40 orientation + 13 permutation algorithms for the LL. Now after like a month or so, i totally forgot it all. Now, are there some tips to memorize and keep them in the brain, because out of all of the 53 algorithms, there is no way to keep all of them up to mind as some wont show up as much as other situations, unless you just practice each one everyday. help, thanks

Speedtyping, now there's something I never thought of in competition form! I once got about 90-100 wpm, only because the typing test was the same thing over and over and over again. At first, I had about 60 WPM. Oh, and I just thought of something: We should compete with speedreading! Some lady broke the world record for speedreading by reading the WHOLE Harry Potter book five in about 2 hours! --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Chris Sz..." <s2chris2@h...> wrote: > I think an other stuff cattegory is a good idea. There are many > things that could be in there such as those wooden peice puzzles > that you have to assemble. Cup stacking also seems like it should be > in the same category as puzzles like rubik's magic because once you > know the routine, it's all about speed and not really a puzzle. None > the less they are still fun. I would like to become good at cup > stacking - it sounds fun. > > --barefoot Chris > > PS just wondering if anyone here can type really fast. speedtyping > seems to be the same type of challenge as speedstacking. > > > Also I would personally be in favor of creating some type > of "Other > > stuff" Category, for stuff like speedstacks and Bop-it. I was > > trying to think of a good category to put the cup stuff into and I > > also agree that it is not a puzzle, so it doesn't really fit in > > other puzzles. > > > > > Chris > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Atkinson" > > <unipsycho6@y...> wrote: > > > It's in 'Other Puzzles.' > > > The other underwater cuber used to be Gilles Roux. I'm also > > curious > > > why his record isn't there anymore. His record actually isn't > > > anywhere anymore on UWR. > > > Here's his site with the video: http://grrroux.free.fr/ > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" > > > <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > > > In which category is it? > > > > > > > > Btw, I searched through "Fun Records" and saw that Dan Harris > is > > > now > > > > the only 6-cubes-underwater cuber. There used to be another > one > > and > > > > he even had a video of it online. Why did he disappear from > the > > > list? > > > > > > > > Stefan

Hey, way to go! Good to have a new member! As for your questions: I started with the cross on top and it eventually just happened that I turned it to the left, it became more natural to do it that way. Odd thing is, I still know all the algorithms with the cross on top, I just apply them with the cross on the left... make sense? At any rate, I would reccomend starting with the cross on the left to save yourself some time. It's easier to see the pieces you're looking for, and to twiddle the LL as well in this orientation. You might want to learn some toned down LL methods as well before diving right into the 2 look. I've been cubing for 2 years and have an average around 26s and I'm just now starting to learn the OLL 1 look algorithms, I use a 3 look at present. That's my $.02USD for what it's worth! Cheers, Daniel

Hi everybody, This evening I finished posting diagrams for step 3 of Ryan's method on my page, and a few days ago I did the same with step 2. For those of you who wish to learn optimized sequences for solving using Ryan's method, you should take a look at them on my cube page. http://andyscubepage.tk Also step 4 diagrams are posted. They allow you to solve the LL corners and preserve the LL edges so those might be something good for corners-first solvers to look at. I would like to know what people think of the optimized sequences. If you find any mistakes, email the corrections to me at rubiks1938@... Andy

Hi Wes. On that website (http://www.speedcubing.com/corners_first_corners.html) there are multiple algs for the different cases, and it says that the ones marked with an ! disturb edges. So all you do is memorize the algs without the ! :) Anyway it really won't mater if you solve top edges first or not, but I do because it lowers my recognition time to see what case is on the bottom corners. Another thing, don't try to learn all of the algs at once. First memorize the ones that don't swap corners, but twist them. These are cases (c1, c7, c13, c17, c23, c29, c35) if you memorize these first you can more easily switch from your method to a more advanced method. Basically once you learned these algs you could first use an alg that you already know to place the bottom corners, and then these 7 algs would finish the corners, Then it would only take two algs to solve the bottom corners. Memorizing only these 7 more algs is a great intermediate method, you could be averaging sub 40 with practice. Well I hoped this helped, Good Luck, -Kenneth Brandon (Brandon is my last name lol) ps. there is a video of me solving at the Caltech Contest here: http://www.henage.net/dan/cube/index.htm pps. It was a beautiful day today in Southern California, I wasn't sure if I should have surfed or snowboarded. (I ended up going snowboarding, I am surfing tomorrow :) )

Thanks for the reply! Yeah, that does make a lot of sense. I would definitely try the cross on the left, but some of the algorithms get a little confusing. I'll work towards that now though. As for LL, I definitely agree with that. What I've been doing right now is solving 3 of the 4 corner/edge combos and then using the last empty one as a working space to solve the top edges. Thanks for the advice though! --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Daniel Hayes" <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > Hey, way to go! Good to have a new member! > > As for your questions: I started with the cross on top and it > eventually just happened that I turned it to the left, it became more > natural to do it that way. Odd thing is, I still know all the > algorithms with the cross on top, I just apply them with the cross on > the left... make sense? At any rate, I would reccomend starting with > the cross on the left to save yourself some time. It's easier to see > the pieces you're looking for, and to twiddle the LL as well in this > orientation. > > You might want to learn some toned down LL methods as well before > diving right into the 2 look. I've been cubing for 2 years and have > an average around 26s and I'm just now starting to learn the OLL 1 > look algorithms, I use a 3 look at present. > > That's my $.02USD for what it's worth! > > Cheers, > Daniel

MANY THANKS to Per K! Thanks for posting your description (post#8890 - attached) describing how to build your own commutator. By following your suggestions (alg A, face turn B, A', B') I was able to sit down last night and figure out how to 3-cycle the center pieces on a 4x4x4!! This was very exciting for me because I typically follow the centers- edges-3x3x3 approach for the 4x4x4 and so I never needed to know how to move centers while leaving the rest of the cube untouched. Nonetheless I always love trying different solution paths for solving all different sized cubes - even if I always use the same approach to speedcube. I know that these center 3-cycles have long been known and I do not claim to have 'invented' a new alg -- but what fun it was to work it out on my own instead of looking it up online! I also expect that it will be much easier to remember. I figured out several different cominations for cycling three ceterpieces between 2 faces and also, by stringing a couple of alg together, how to 3 cycle thre centerpieces on the same face. I expect this new found command of centerpiece movement will have two huge ramifications for what I can do with the big cubes. I have already realized one of them ..... (see next post) Thanks again Per K! Rob --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Per Kristen Fredlund" <aspiring_to_love@y...> wrote: > Some simple "Cube-Math" follows ;-) > > What i want to explain is the maths behind constructing a 3-cycle. > Those who already know may hit the Back-button of the browser :D > > First step is to find a way to change some part of the cube. On a > 3x3x3 cube u want usually to have that change on a single layer or 2 > adjacent layers (say top and middle layer). Now lets say that the alg > to achieve this is : A And say u can rotate the single layer where > the change occured with the alg : B An easy example of this is to > start from a solved 3x3x3 cube, then apply : R'DR This affects one > corner of the U-layer of the cube. So R'DR = A in this case. One can > also easily rotate the U-layer with for instance : U So in this > case U = B. Now back to making the 3-cycle which is what we try to > do :D We have already applied R'DRU (=AB) to the cube. A 3 cycle is > now made by applying A' (inverse of A) and B' (inverse of B). In our > case we apply R'D'R and U'. So the whole sequence of moves will be : > R'DRUR'D'RU' (=ABA'B'). What we have actually done is to make a > commutator (in group theoretical terms). What we made was a corner 3- > cycle since A changed one corner on the U-layer. > > Now, how can we construct a 3-cycle on the edges? Replace A with the > following alg : R'UsF And let B=U like before. To make up our > commutator (ABA'B') we have to add a sequence like this: UF'U'sRU' > (=BA'B') The complete 3-cycle alg is thus like this : R'UsFUF'U'RU'. > > Another way to denote a commutator is like this : [A,B] (=ABA'B') For > our last 3-cycle on edges we can write instead : [R'UsF,U] Quite a > nice way to write 10 moves on the cube :D > > Now instead of only changing a single cubicle (a corner or an edge) > we can of course change a "block" 2x1, an edge-corner pair. Let > A=R'UF and B=U. Now ABA'B'=[R'UF,U]=R'UFUF'U'RU'. Again we got a 3- > cycle, strange enough! Hehe ... > > Next i will adopt some notation from larger cubes than 3x3x3 to > explore other possibleways of making 3-cycles. Let A=R'DR The same > we had for the first corner 3-cycle!!! Instead of having B=U now let > B=(Uu) ie moving top 2 layers clockwise while bottom layer stays put. > Notationally it seems that B is 3 moves but in reality it is 1 move > only. ABA'B'=[A,B]=R'DR(Uu)R'D'R(U'u'). This can be rewritten like > this : R'DRDB'DBD'. Again we have a 3-cycle on an edge-corner pair. > > For larger cubes we have much more variation in making 3-cycles like > this. We can make corner 3-cycle, edge 3-cycle, facecenter 3-cycle > and 3 cycles on "blocks" like 3x1, 2x2, 3x2, 2x2x2 and even 2x2x3. I > leave it as an exercise to work that out. It is great fun and useful > for making of certain kinds of pretty patterns and more ... > > Happy cycling :-P > > --Per K-- > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" > <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > I think any type of center cubie can easily be 3-cycled. Here's an > > example: > > > > - Let OinkleBurger display a solved 7x7. > > - Choose any center sticker of the blue (back) side. > > - Drag that sticker up, right, down, left. > > - Now six stickers (one on each face of the cube) will be changed, > > the rest of the cube is not. > > - Turn the blue face. > > - Reverse the first part turns, i.e. drag the sticker at the *old* > > position right, up, left, down. > > > > Let me know if I confused you ;-) > > > > It may look like a 2-swap of center pieces, but actually it's a 3- > > cycle (two blue stickers are involved). > > > > Stefan

.... so as a result of finally learning how to 3-cycle 4x4x4 centerpieces I decided to follow Chris' suggestion to supercube a 4x4x4. I was successful on my first try but was I ever glad I didn't look at the time before I started. I know that I have a good enough 'vocabulary' of moves to solve the supercube 4x4x4 every time but I think that I need to give serious consideration to my solution path to guarantee efficiency. Cool, yet another reason to mess around with my 4x4x4. For my first solve I solved all 24 centers into the right positions, then united all the edges, then solved like a 3x3x3, then went back and fixed the centers that had become messed up in the process. I know this can't possibly be the most effective solution path but I chose it intentionally because I was curious to see what effect the center-edge-3x3x3 solution would have on the centerpieces as it was being implemented. I was surprised to find that the parity move I use for the single edge-pair flip does not, in fact, alter the relative positions of any of the centerpieces. If I flip the UF edge then all centers are untouched except the U centers which rotate 180 as a unit. Previously I had always thought that the edge flip also repositioned two of the centerpieces - so I learned something new this afternoon. I mentioned in my previous post that center 3-cycling would have 2 huge ramifications for me. The other one, which I intend to postpone until the summer (lest I become terribly addicted to it and unproductive in all other spheres of my life), is to blindfold a 4x4x4. I can't wait to attempt this huge challenge. I know that it will be MUCH harder than blindfolding a 3x3x3, but i just gotta try it :) Thanks for the encouragement and enthusiasm Chris. I have to confess that supercubing a 3x3x3 isn't all that different from a standard solve to me (you only REALLY need to know 1 additional alg - though 2 or 3 can prove more efficient) but supercubing big cubes is DEFINATELY something I will do much more often as it really is cubing on another level from a standard 4x4x4 solve. Right now both my 5x5x5 are out of order - one has a broken centercorner [my first 5x5x5 break - just last week :( ] and the other is in the process of being painted. As soon as I finish painting my 5x5x5 I'll give that a try too. What about some convenient (and fun) abbreviations? supercube 4x4x4 = super4 supercube 5x5x5 = superprof P.S. for others potentially interested in making a temporary supercube - I just put dabs of 'liquid paper' on the centerpieces. It will give you easy recognition but will also easily scrape off with your thumbnail if you just want a normal Revenge again. Using White as up and blue as front (how I always hold my cube for blindfolding) I just put one dab on the top left center, two dabs on the top right, three on the bottom left, and four on the bottom right of each colour in the same patern as would appear on a die. A quick and easy way to make a temporary supercube. Rob "If cubing is always fun, then supercubing is superfun"

Yea, the 3-cycle is awesome. Using the same principle, I have been able to "fix" as many as 4 or 5 centers on a 11x11x11 at once, meaning I cycled between 12 and 15 center peices! Doug -- AIM: dogcannibal MSN: dougreed@...

I just wanted to tell all Swedes to take a look at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rubrikskub I'm in need of new mebers! ;) Johan

Hello Rob! U actually need at least 2 facecenter orienting algs to solve the supercube if u ignore centers until cube is solved normally. It's bit tricky to prove it mathematically, but neither an alg doing [UR] or [UR'] will be enuff. The latter is fairly easy to prove that it can never achieve for instance [U2] since the sum of the orientation effects is 0, while it should be 2 for [U2]. [UR] has the right sum but it still won't be possible to achieve [U2]. Happy supercubing anyway :D --Per Kristen-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Rob Butler" <futuese@y...> wrote: > > .... so as a result of finally learning how to 3-cycle 4x4x4 > centerpieces I decided to follow Chris' suggestion to supercube a > 4x4x4. > > I was successful on my first try but was I ever glad I didn't look > at the time before I started. I know that I have a good > enough 'vocabulary' of moves to solve the supercube 4x4x4 every time > but I think that I need to give serious consideration to my solution > path to guarantee efficiency. Cool, yet another reason to mess > around with my 4x4x4. > > For my first solve I solved all 24 centers into the right positions, > then united all the edges, then solved like a 3x3x3, then went back > and fixed the centers that had become messed up in the process. I > know this can't possibly be the most effective solution path but I > chose it intentionally because I was curious to see what effect the > center-edge-3x3x3 solution would have on the centerpieces as it was > being implemented. I was surprised to find that the parity move I > use for the single edge-pair flip does not, in fact, alter the > relative positions of any of the centerpieces. If I flip the UF > edge then all centers are untouched except the U centers which > rotate 180 as a unit. Previously I had always thought that the edge > flip also repositioned two of the centerpieces - so I learned > something new this afternoon. > > I mentioned in my previous post that center 3-cycling would have 2 > huge ramifications for me. The other one, which I intend to > postpone until the summer (lest I become terribly addicted to it and > unproductive in all other spheres of my life), is to blindfold a > 4x4x4. I can't wait to attempt this huge challenge. I know that it > will be MUCH harder than blindfolding a 3x3x3, but i just gotta try > it :) > > Thanks for the encouragement and enthusiasm Chris. I have to > confess that supercubing a 3x3x3 isn't all that different from a > standard solve to me (you only REALLY need to know 1 additional alg - > though 2 or 3 can prove more efficient) but supercubing big cubes > is DEFINATELY something I will do much more often as it really is > cubing on another level from a standard 4x4x4 solve. Right now both > my 5x5x5 are out of order - one has a broken centercorner [my first > 5x5x5 break - just last week :( ] and the other is in the process of > being painted. As soon as I finish painting my 5x5x5 I'll give that > a try too. > > What about some convenient (and fun) abbreviations? > supercube 4x4x4 = super4 > supercube 5x5x5 = superprof > > P.S. for others potentially interested in making a temporary > supercube - > I just put dabs of 'liquid paper' on the centerpieces. It will give > you easy recognition but will also easily scrape off with your > thumbnail if you just want a normal Revenge again. Using White as > up and blue as front (how I always hold my cube for blindfolding) I > just put one dab on the top left center, two dabs on the top right, > three on the bottom left, and four on the bottom right of each > colour in the same patern as would appear on a die. A quick and > easy way to make a temporary supercube. > > Rob > "If cubing is always fun, then supercubing is superfun"

Hey Rob and others!! Reading Rob's posting (#8990) he says he could create a facecenter 3 cycle on one face by combining several 3 cycles on facecenters. This can actually be achieved in one 3-cycle, also a commutator. But in this case one has to do some preliminary positioning first. This is how to make the following facecenter 3 cycle : (Urf => Ubr => Ulb) Use the following alg : (f')[r'u'r,U](f) Without doing (f') first we would have had the following 3-cycle instead : (Luf => Ubr => Ulb) Other 3 cycles not directly achievable by a direct commutator can be achieved similarly with some other prepositioning. This can be written generally like this : C[A,B]C'. If i recall correctly this is called a conjugation of a commutator. If A=C'D or B=EC then we will have cancellation of C (or C') at front or back and we have done a transcription of the original commutator [A,B] with the same number of moves !! An example. Consider again [r'u'r,U]=r'u'rUr'urU'. Letting C=r then we will have (r)r'u'rUr'urU'(r')=u'rUr'urU'r', also a 3-cycle on facecenters. Letting C=ur we end up with rUr'urU'r'u' and so on. All of them 3-cycles on facecenters :D --Per K--

Has anyone seen any cheap 4x4x4s or knock-offs? My friend broke my 4x4 and I don't really like the rubiks.com 4x4s for speedcubing. -Roland

Just because there is a lack of interest in Cube Art, that doesn't mean it's the only area that will spawn original ideas. There are still plenty of original ideas to be had in all areas. -Richard --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@...> wrote: > Hi, Duncan, > > I agree that seeking a new alg can be fun, but lot > has been done in > speedcubing. The time for uriginal discovery in this > area was in > the 80s when Jessica and Lars were formulating > their strtegies. If > you want to discover new things today, you should > look into: > computer cubing > cbe code development > cube art. > > I specilize in cube art. Drawing a picture of a > Rubik's cube is not > cube art, you musr actually use Rubik's cube as art > medium. I do > three dimensional stuctures, both cubical and > non-cubical. The > website to look at is > http://wwww.design.rubikscube.info . > > I exhibited 3d designs in Toronto last yoer.I > couldn't compete, > because I had no rivals! No one could do it! I was > thr only > exhibitor. I left Toronto in a state of shock. > > Would you, as a mathmatician, happen to know of > anyone who can do > this? I have been asking this question of bazzilion > people. Only > one person answered yes. When I inquired after the > name, he > replied:"Hana bizek." :-) > > Discovery IS fun, that'swhy we have math and > science. > Hana a kostky > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

Hey guys I can solve the cube in average of 2:20, using the layer-by-layer method. I do an "X" on the base first, then place the edges, instead of making a "+" then placing the corners. (base, second layer, top) I'm willing to learn a faster yet easy method. Easy, in terms of memorization/understanding. I think Petrus' and Fridrich's methods are cool & fast, but very advanced for me. Can you suggest any other method? Or some tips in understanding these? :) Thanks. -erik

> I think Petrus' and Fridrich's methods are cool & fast, but very > advanced for me. Can you suggest any other method? Or some tips in > understanding these? :) A good method to learn that's pretty fast (times in the 30's) and requires few sequences to learn (minimim 33) is the working corner/edge F2L method and a 3 look LL. The F2L allows you to save moves by not solving one corner. This can reduce your F2L times by a lot. The LL requires you to learn 30 sequences - 2 to orient the edges, 7 to orient the corners, and 21 to permute the entire LL. This is a very efficient method considering that you only need to learn 32 sequences and can get times around 30 seconds. Andy http://andyscubepage.tk

Just wanted to tell that my swedish cube group has a new aderss( Cause I'd spelled the old one wrong) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rubikskub Hope that all swedish cubers take a look there! Johan

Yeah, F2L with 3-look is probably the way to go. With practice its possible to break 25 seconds with it. -Richard --- Andy C <rubiks1938@...> wrote: > > > I think Petrus' and Fridrich's methods are cool & > fast, but very > > advanced for me. Can you suggest any other > method? Or some tips in > > understanding these? :) > > A good method to learn that's pretty fast (times in > the 30's) and requires few > sequences to learn (minimim 33) is the working > corner/edge F2L method and > a 3 look LL. The F2L allows you to save moves by not > solving one corner. > This can reduce your F2L times by a lot. > The LL requires you to learn 30 sequences - 2 to > orient the edges, 7 to orient > the corners, and 21 to permute the entire LL. > > This is a very efficient method considering that you > only need to learn 32 > sequences and can get times around 30 seconds. > > Andy > > http://andyscubepage.tk > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

> [UR] has the right sum > but it still won't be possible to achieve [U2]. Sure? How about [UR] y' [UR] x' [UR]*3 ? Stefan

Can you read? I never said cube art is the only area that will spawn original ideas. In fact, I specifically listed two other areas - coimputer cuybing and cube cide development. Hana a kostky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > Just because there is a lack of interest in Cube Art, > that doesn't mean it's the only area that will spawn > original ideas. There are still plenty of original > ideas to be had in all areas. > -Richard > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > Hi, Duncan, > > > > I agree that seeking a new alg can be fun, but lot > > has been done in > > speedcubing. The time for uriginal discovery in this > > area was in > > the 80s when Jessica and Lars were formulating > > their strtegies. If > > you want to discover new things today, you should > > look into: > > computer cubing > > cbe code development > > cube art. > > > > I specilize in cube art. Drawing a picture of a > > Rubik's cube is not > > cube art, you musr actually use Rubik's cube as art > > medium. I do > > three dimensional stuctures, both cubical and > > non-cubical. The > > website to look at is > > http://wwww.design.rubikscube.info . > > > > I exhibited 3d designs in Toronto last yoer.I > > couldn't compete, > > because I had no rivals! No one could do it! I was > > thr only > > exhibitor. I left Toronto in a state of shock. > > > > Would you, as a mathmatician, happen to know of > > anyone who can do > > this? I have been asking this question of bazzilion > > people. Only > > one person answered yes. When I inquired after the > > name, he > > replied:"Hana bizek." :-) > > > > Discovery IS fun, that'swhy we have math and > > science. > > Hana a kostky > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

Hello, Eric I solve the cube the same way, I only know about 10 algorithims, but I've been working on it for a while and can solve it in about a minute on average. When you go to the different sites slowly incorporate different algortithims, and slowly start solving another way, note even if you can't solve it their way you can still learn new things. I'm currently learning the lars method, I would love to learn the frindich method, or both lol keep practicing and examining your algorithim, and with time you should become a good cuber, I've only been cubing for about 7 months, have fun. >From Chris dominant11th <dominant11th@...> wrote: Hey guys I can solve the cube in average of 2:20, using the layer-by-layer method. I do an "X" on the base first, then place the edges, instead of making a "+" then placing the corners. (base, second layer, top) I'm willing to learn a faster yet easy method. Easy, in terms of memorization/understanding. I think Petrus' and Fridrich's methods are cool & fast, but very advanced for me. Can you suggest any other method? Or some tips in understanding these? :) Thanks. -erik --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Fellow CubeMasters, I am pondering on the fact that Rubiks.com cubes are as 'good' as the ones they handed out at the World Championships these days. I ask, has anyone tried a www.rubiks.com cube lately? If so, are they as good as the ones from the Championships? ->Brent http://freewebs.com/brentsuniverse :) --Brent --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

although methodology has been pretty much done(even I admit that): puzzle building, cube art, and cube programming are wonderful areas to explore. I am in full agreement with most posters to this thread. However, not many have tapped into the lucrative 4th dimension as of yet. Let's hope that changes soon. -K- --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@...> wrote: > Can you read? > I never said cube art is the only area that will > spawn original > ideas. In fact, I specifically listed two other > areas - coimputer > cuybing and cube cide development. > Hana a kostky > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > Richard Patterson > <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > > Just because there is a lack of interest in Cube > Art, > > that doesn't mean it's the only area that will > spawn > > original ideas. There are still plenty of > original > > ideas to be had in all areas. > > -Richard > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > Hi, Duncan, > > > > > > I agree that seeking a new alg can be fun, but > lot > > > has been done in > > > speedcubing. The time for uriginal discovery in > this > > > area was in > > > the 80s when Jessica and Lars were formulating > > > their strtegies. If > > > you want to discover new things today, you > should > > > look into: > > > computer cubing > > > cbe code development > > > cube art. > > > > > > I specilize in cube art. Drawing a picture of a > > > Rubik's cube is not > > > cube art, you musr actually use Rubik's cube as > art > > > medium. I do > > > three dimensional stuctures, both cubical and > > > non-cubical. The > > > website to look at is > > > http://wwww.design.rubikscube.info . > > > > > > I exhibited 3d designs in Toronto last yoer.I > > > couldn't compete, > > > because I had no rivals! No one could do it! I > was > > > thr only > > > exhibitor. I left Toronto in a state of shock. > > > > > > Would you, as a mathmatician, happen to know of > > > anyone who can do > > > this? I have been asking this question of > bazzilion > > > people. Only > > > one person answered yes. When I inquired after > the > > > name, he > > > replied:"Hana bizek." :-) > > > > > > Discovery IS fun, that'swhy we have math and > > > science. > > > Hana a kostky > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > online. > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

hi everyone, can someone or some people teach me how to re connect the 2x2 Rubik's cube, because my little brother made one of the corners pop out, and I don't know how to rebuild it, please help me soon! ~Joseph

Is there a possibility that the members of the cubing community could publish a records book independent from that of guiness...as it seems most records will go unnoticed by Guiness since we have so many categories. Perhaps with an introduction section that shows cuber demographics with maps and pretty things like that and loads of pictures. Personally, Im vying for the "Rattiest Usable 3x3x3" and "Most Useless Posts To Speedcubing Yahoo Group" records. +k+ __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

you could always try repairing the one you have or sending it to me :) -K- <---In serious need of a 4x4x4 --- rollinrvc <rollinrvc@...> wrote: > > Has anyone seen any cheap 4x4x4s or knock-offs? My > friend broke my > 4x4 and I don't really like the rubiks.com 4x4s for > speedcubing. > -Roland > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "azinj05ieipih" <azinj05ieipih@y...> wrote: > hi everyone, can someone or some people teach me how to re connect > the 2x2 Rubik's cube, because my little brother made one of the > corners pop out, and I don't know how to rebuild it, please help me > soon! > > ~Joseph Hi, if it is the Rubik's brand 2x2x2 then go to the photos section of the group and it is the folder called "fix your 2x2x2." -Kenneth

That would be sort of like a book version of speedcubingdotcom's UWR list. It would be pretty cool, but somewhat superfluous because we already have speedcubingdotcom. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > Is there a possibility that the members of the cubing > community could publish a records book independent > from that of guiness...as it seems most records will > go unnoticed by Guiness since we have so many > categories. > Perhaps with an introduction section that shows cuber > demographics with maps and pretty things like that and > loads of pictures. > > Personally, Im vying for the "Rattiest Usable 3x3x3" > and "Most Useless Posts To Speedcubing Yahoo Group" > records. > > +k+ > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

well what the .com lacks is an aesthetically pleasant format analogous to that of guiness. -K- --- Michael Atkinson <unipsycho6@...> wrote: > That would be sort of like a book version of > speedcubingdotcom's UWR > list. It would be pretty cool, but somewhat > superfluous because we > already have speedcubingdotcom. > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle > Bryant > <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > Is there a possibility that the members of the > cubing > > community could publish a records book independent > > from that of guiness...as it seems most records > will > > go unnoticed by Guiness since we have so many > > categories. > > Perhaps with an introduction section that shows > cuber > > demographics with maps and pretty things like that > and > > loads of pictures. > > > > Personally, Im vying for the "Rattiest Usable > 3x3x3" > > and "Most Useless Posts To Speedcubing Yahoo > Group" > > records. > > > > +k+ > > > > __________________________________ > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > online. > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

No I can't read, nor have I ever seen computer spelled with an "i" in it. I was disagreeing with you, not lashing out, and I don't appreciate your spiteful comments at all. I used to give you a hard time about cube art, and I stopped. (it wasn't easy) I suggest you seek some anger management. -Richard --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@...> wrote: > Can you read? > I never said cube art is the only area that will > spawn original > ideas. In fact, I specifically listed two other > areas - coimputer > cuybing and cube cide development. > Hana a kostky > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > Richard Patterson > <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > > Just because there is a lack of interest in Cube > Art, > > that doesn't mean it's the only area that will > spawn > > original ideas. There are still plenty of > original > > ideas to be had in all areas. > > -Richard > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > Hi, Duncan, > > > > > > I agree that seeking a new alg can be fun, but > lot > > > has been done in > > > speedcubing. The time for uriginal discovery in > this > > > area was in > > > the 80s when Jessica and Lars were formulating > > > their strtegies. If > > > you want to discover new things today, you > should > > > look into: > > > computer cubing > > > cbe code development > > > cube art. > > > > > > I specilize in cube art. Drawing a picture of a > > > Rubik's cube is not > > > cube art, you musr actually use Rubik's cube as > art > > > medium. I do > > > three dimensional stuctures, both cubical and > > > non-cubical. The > > > website to look at is > > > http://wwww.design.rubikscube.info . > > > > > > I exhibited 3d designs in Toronto last yoer.I > > > couldn't compete, > > > because I had no rivals! No one could do it! I > was > > > thr only > > > exhibitor. I left Toronto in a state of shock. > > > > > > Would you, as a mathmatician, happen to know of > > > anyone who can do > > > this? I have been asking this question of > bazzilion > > > people. Only > > > one person answered yes. When I inquired after > the > > > name, he > > > replied:"Hana bizek." :-) > > > > > > Discovery IS fun, that'swhy we have math and > > > science. > > > Hana a kostky > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > online. > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

ah, now we all know that language barriers create interesting spelling errors, that was quite the cheap shot there Richard. -K- --- Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@...> wrote: > No I can't read, nor have I ever seen computer > spelled > with an "i" in it. I was disagreeing with you, not > lashing out, and I don't appreciate your spiteful > comments at all. I used to give you a hard time > about > cube art, and I stopped. (it wasn't easy) I suggest > you seek some anger management. > -Richard > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@...> wrote: > > Can you read? > > I never said cube art is the only area that will > > spawn original > > ideas. In fact, I specifically listed two other > > areas - coimputer > > cuybing and cube cide development. > > Hana a kostky > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > > Richard Patterson > > <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > > > Just because there is a lack of interest in Cube > > Art, > > > that doesn't mean it's the only area that will > > spawn > > > original ideas. There are still plenty of > > original > > > ideas to be had in all areas. > > > -Richard > > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > > Hi, Duncan, > > > > > > > > I agree that seeking a new alg can be fun, but > > lot > > > > has been done in > > > > speedcubing. The time for uriginal discovery > in > > this > > > > area was in > > > > the 80s when Jessica and Lars were formulating > > > > > their strtegies. If > > > > you want to discover new things today, you > > should > > > > look into: > > > > computer cubing > > > > cbe code development > > > > cube art. > > > > > > > > I specilize in cube art. Drawing a picture of > a > > > > Rubik's cube is not > > > > cube art, you musr actually use Rubik's cube > as > > art > > > > medium. I do > > > > three dimensional stuctures, both cubical and > > > > non-cubical. The > > > > website to look at is > > > > http://wwww.design.rubikscube.info . > > > > > > > > I exhibited 3d designs in Toronto last yoer.I > > > > couldn't compete, > > > > because I had no rivals! No one could do it! I > > was > > > > thr only > > > > exhibitor. I left Toronto in a state of > shock. > > > > > > > > Would you, as a mathmatician, happen to know > of > > > > anyone who can do > > > > this? I have been asking this question of > > bazzilion > > > > people. Only > > > > one person answered yes. When I inquired after > > the > > > > name, he > > > > replied:"Hana bizek." :-) > > > > > > > > Discovery IS fun, that'swhy we have math and > > > > science. > > > > Hana a kostky > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > > Do you Yahoo!? > > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > > online. > > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > online. > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

Ahem ... yes u are right!! But everyone would agree it's not a productive way to achieve [U2] :D Here's ur 2 pence ;-) > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Pochmann" <pochmann@g...> wrote: > > [UR] has the right sum > > but it still won't be possible to achieve [U2]. > > Sure? How about [UR] y' [UR] x' [UR]*3 ? > > Stefan

Hi Hana, Im sure cube art is veyr exciting. Not aware of anyone esle who does it I'm afraid. I think that there is still plenty of room for original discovery in both strategy and algorithms especially strategy. I think they ar elinked though - as new strategies appear algorithms that fit those strategies take on new importance. Always on the look out for anything to do with cubes so if I spot any cube art I will certainly post. Duncan ----- Original Message ----- From: Hana M. Bizek To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2004 1:16 AM Subject: [Speed cubing group] Discovery is FUN!!!!!!!!!! Hi, Duncan, I agree that seeking a new alg can be fun, but lot has been done in speedcubing. The time for uriginal discovery in this area was in the 80s when Jessica and Lars were formulating their strtegies. If you want to discover new things today, you should look into: computer cubing cbe code development cube art. I specilize in cube art. Drawing a picture of a Rubik's cube is not cube art, you musr actually use Rubik's cube as art medium. I do three dimensional stuctures, both cubical and non-cubical. The website to look at is http://wwww.design.rubikscube.info . I exhibited 3d designs in Toronto last yoer.I couldn't compete, because I had no rivals! No one could do it! I was thr only exhibitor. I left Toronto in a state of shock. Would you, as a mathmatician, happen to know of anyone who can do this? I have been asking this question of bazzilion people. Only one person answered yes. When I inquired after the name, he replied:"Hana bizek." :-) Discovery IS fun, that'swhy we have math and science. Hana a kostky ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Happy Days Are Here At Last (51.09) 1:01.27 56.24 (1:18.02) 56.61 54.47 59.92 55.05 54.5 1:05.7 1:05.31 AVG = 59.57 --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Per Kristen Fredlund" <aspiring_to_love@y...> wrote: > Hey Rob and others!! > > Reading Rob's posting (#8990) he says he could create a facecenter 3 > cycle on one face by combining several 3 cycles on facecenters. This > can actually be achieved in one 3-cycle, also a commutator. But in > this case one has to do some preliminary positioning first. > > This is how to make the following facecenter 3 cycle : (Urf => Ubr => > Ulb) Use the following alg : (f')[r'u'r,U](f) > > Without doing (f') first we would have had the following 3-cycle > instead : (Luf => Ubr => Ulb) > > Other 3 cycles not directly achievable by a direct commutator can be > achieved similarly with some other prepositioning. This can be > written generally like this : C[A,B]C'. If i recall correctly this is > called a conjugation of a commutator. In fact, any conjugate of a commutator is also a commmutator.

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, GameOfDeath2 <no_reply@y...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Per Kristen Fredlund" > <aspiring_to_love@y...> wrote: > > Hey Rob and others!! > > > > Reading Rob's posting (#8990) he says he could create a facecenter > 3 > > cycle on one face by combining several 3 cycles on facecenters. > This > > can actually be achieved in one 3-cycle, also a commutator. But in > > this case one has to do some preliminary positioning first. > > > > This is how to make the following facecenter 3 cycle : (Urf => Ubr > => > > Ulb) Use the following alg : (f')[r'u'r,U](f) > > > > Without doing (f') first we would have had the following 3-cycle > > instead : (Luf => Ubr => Ulb) > > > > Other 3 cycles not directly achievable by a direct commutator can > be > > achieved similarly with some other prepositioning. This can be > > written generally like this : C[A,B]C'. If i recall correctly this > is > > called a conjugation of a commutator. > > In fact, any conjugate of a commutator is also a commmutator. To see this note that a'(b'c'bc)a=a'b'aa'c'aa'baa'ca=(a'ba)'(a'ca)'(a'ba)(a'ca).

Where can I get the exact algs for that? Thanks. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Andy C" <rubiks1938@y...> wrote: > > > I think Petrus' and Fridrich's methods are cool & fast, but very > > advanced for me. Can you suggest any other method? Or some tips in > > understanding these? :) > > A good method to learn that's pretty fast (times in the 30's) and requires few > sequences to learn (minimim 33) is the working corner/edge F2L method and > a 3 look LL. The F2L allows you to save moves by not solving one corner. > This can reduce your F2L times by a lot. > The LL requires you to learn 30 sequences - 2 to orient the edges, 7 to orient > the corners, and 21 to permute the entire LL. > > This is a very efficient method considering that you only need to learn 32 > sequences and can get times around 30 seconds. > > Andy > > http://andyscubepage.tk

I just bought one mini-5x5, one megaminx, and one special edition 5x5 from mefferts. The first thing that happened was that one ytellow tile came loose from the special edition 5x5. On my way to get the glue, one of the green tiles came loose, right in my hand, without force! (glue is still drying, further info is to come) Then I picked up the mini 5x5. Felt really good, and after some lubing, it solved smoothly. I wish. The center tile popped loose if I put even the slightest tension to the cubies. It popped just as easily back in place, but it disturbs the flow of the solve. The megaminx had paper stickers, they seem to peel really easily. Of course, this could be made by some moron not worthy to work at the mefferts factory. It could also be due to the cold and dry climate in Sweden this time of year. Nevertheless, in comparison to the rubiks.com cubes I've bought (like seven 3x3, three 5x5 and two 4x4) they really suck. (Updates to be expected ... ) Albin

As for the mini 5x5x5, my stickers are slightly peeling, and I did have some problems with the center tiles popping off. I followed Ton's suggestions by making small dents in the edge of the center (the part that squeezes into place) and I have had absolutely no problem with them since then. I silicone lubed it and that is probably what is messing up the stickers, but it also moves about 400% smoother than it did in the beginning. Doug -- AIM: dogcannibal MSN: dougreed@...

honestly, if you had them all memorized at one time, then you already know what it takes to remember them. it doesn't sound like you need our help. --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "drunkenpike" <Pikes2k@h...> wrote: > a while ago, i used to be able to solve the cube in less than a > minute using the 40 orientation + 13 permutation algorithms for the > LL. Now after like a month or so, i totally forgot it all. Now, are > there some tips to memorize and keep them in the brain, because out > of all of the 53 algorithms, there is no way to keep all of them up > to mind as some wont show up as much as other situations, unless you > just practice each one everyday. help, thanks

Yes, a cheap shot Kyle. We all know how polite this was: > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@...> wrote: > > Can you read? --- Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@...> wrote: > ah, now we all know that language barriers create > interesting spelling errors, that was quite the > cheap > shot there Richard. > -K- > --- Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@...> > wrote: > > No I can't read, nor have I ever seen computer > > spelled > > with an "i" in it. I was disagreeing with you, > not > > lashing out, and I don't appreciate your spiteful > > comments at all. I used to give you a hard time > > about > > cube art, and I stopped. (it wasn't easy) I > suggest > > you seek some anger management. > > -Richard > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@...> > wrote: > > > Can you read? > > > I never said cube art is the only area that will > > > spawn original > > > ideas. In fact, I specifically listed two other > > > areas - coimputer > > > cuybing and cube cide development. > > > Hana a kostky > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > > > Richard Patterson > > > <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > > > > Just because there is a lack of interest in > Cube > > > Art, > > > > that doesn't mean it's the only area that will > > > spawn > > > > original ideas. There are still plenty of > > > original > > > > ideas to be had in all areas. > > > > -Richard > > > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > > > Hi, Duncan, > > > > > > > > > > I agree that seeking a new alg can be fun, > but > > > lot > > > > > has been done in > > > > > speedcubing. The time for uriginal discovery > > in > > > this > > > > > area was in > > > > > the 80s when Jessica and Lars were > formulating > > > > > > > their strtegies. If > > > > > you want to discover new things today, you > > > should > > > > > look into: > > > > > computer cubing > > > > > cbe code development > > > > > cube art. > > > > > > > > > > I specilize in cube art. Drawing a picture > of > > a > > > > > Rubik's cube is not > > > > > cube art, you musr actually use Rubik's cube > > as > > > art > > > > > medium. I do > > > > > three dimensional stuctures, both cubical > and > > > > > non-cubical. The > > > > > website to look at is > > > > > http://wwww.design.rubikscube.info . > > > > > > > > > > I exhibited 3d designs in Toronto last > yoer.I > > > > > couldn't compete, > > > > > because I had no rivals! No one could do it! > I > > > was > > > > > thr only > > > > > exhibitor. I left Toronto in a state of > > shock. > > > > > > > > > > Would you, as a mathmatician, happen to know > > of > > > > > anyone who can do > > > > > this? I have been asking this question of > > > bazzilion > > > > > people. Only > > > > > one person answered yes. When I inquired > after > > > the > > > > > name, he > > > > > replied:"Hana bizek." :-) > > > > > > > > > > Discovery IS fun, that'swhy we have math and > > > > > science. > > > > > Hana a kostky > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > > > Do you Yahoo!? > > > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > > > online. > > > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > > online. > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > online. > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

--- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > <snip> not many have tapped into the lucrative 4th > dimension as of yet. Let's hope that changes soon. > -K- <Homersimpsonvoice> mmmmmmmmm.... 4D Megaminx......</homersimpsonvoice>

Ah hhmm ... technically it is yes. But in reality no, due to those cancellations u have in ur scheme. Well that's my opinion anyway. >From a practical point of view ... --cubix-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, GameOfDeath2 <no_reply@y...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, GameOfDeath2 > <no_reply@y...> wrote: > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Per Kristen > Fredlund" > > <aspiring_to_love@y...> wrote: > > > Hey Rob and others!! > > > > > > Reading Rob's posting (#8990) he says he could create a > facecenter > > 3 > > > cycle on one face by combining several 3 cycles on facecenters. > > This > > > can actually be achieved in one 3-cycle, also a commutator. But > in > > > this case one has to do some preliminary positioning first. > > > > > > This is how to make the following facecenter 3 cycle : (Urf => > Ubr > > => > > > Ulb) Use the following alg : (f')[r'u'r,U](f) > > > > > > Without doing (f') first we would have had the following 3- cycle > > > instead : (Luf => Ubr => Ulb) > > > > > > Other 3 cycles not directly achievable by a direct commutator can > > be > > > achieved similarly with some other prepositioning. This can be > > > written generally like this : C[A,B]C'. If i recall correctly > this > > is > > > called a conjugation of a commutator. > > > > In fact, any conjugate of a commutator is also a commmutator. > > To see this note that > > a'(b'c'bc)a=a'b'aa'c'aa'baa'ca=(a'ba)'(a'ca)'(a'ba)(a'ca).

an error is an error (thank you debate fallacy research). I realize that what she said wasn't exactly nice, but it doesnt license us all to flame. :D -K- --- Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@...> wrote: > Yes, a cheap shot Kyle. We all know how polite this > was: > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@...> > wrote: > > > Can you read? > > --- Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@...> wrote: > > ah, now we all know that language barriers create > > interesting spelling errors, that was quite the > > cheap > > shot there Richard. > > -K- > > --- Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@...> > > wrote: > > > No I can't read, nor have I ever seen computer > > > spelled > > > with an "i" in it. I was disagreeing with you, > > not > > > lashing out, and I don't appreciate your > spiteful > > > comments at all. I used to give you a hard time > > > about > > > cube art, and I stopped. (it wasn't easy) I > > suggest > > > you seek some anger management. > > > -Richard > > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@...> > > wrote: > > > > Can you read? > > > > I never said cube art is the only area that > will > > > > spawn original > > > > ideas. In fact, I specifically listed two > other > > > > areas - coimputer > > > > cuybing and cube cide development. > > > > Hana a kostky > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > > > > Richard Patterson > > > > <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > > > > > Just because there is a lack of interest in > > Cube > > > > Art, > > > > > that doesn't mean it's the only area that > will > > > > spawn > > > > > original ideas. There are still plenty of > > > > original > > > > > ideas to be had in all areas. > > > > > -Richard > > > > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > > > > Hi, Duncan, > > > > > > > > > > > > I agree that seeking a new alg can be fun, > > but > > > > lot > > > > > > has been done in > > > > > > speedcubing. The time for uriginal > discovery > > > in > > > > this > > > > > > area was in > > > > > > the 80s when Jessica and Lars were > > formulating > > > > > > > > > their strtegies. If > > > > > > you want to discover new things today, you > > > > should > > > > > > look into: > > > > > > computer cubing > > > > > > cbe code development > > > > > > cube art. > > > > > > > > > > > > I specilize in cube art. Drawing a picture > > of > > > a > > > > > > Rubik's cube is not > > > > > > cube art, you musr actually use Rubik's > cube > > > as > > > > art > > > > > > medium. I do > > > > > > three dimensional stuctures, both cubical > > and > > > > > > non-cubical. The > > > > > > website to look at is > > > > > > http://wwww.design.rubikscube.info . > > > > > > > > > > > > I exhibited 3d designs in Toronto last > > yoer.I > > > > > > couldn't compete, > > > > > > because I had no rivals! No one could do > it! > > I > > > > was > > > > > > thr only > > > > > > exhibitor. I left Toronto in a state of > > > shock. > > > > > > > > > > > > Would you, as a mathmatician, happen to > know > > > of > > > > > > anyone who can do > > > > > > this? I have been asking this question of > > > > bazzilion > > > > > > people. Only > > > > > > one person answered yes. When I inquired > > after > > > > the > > > > > > name, he > > > > > > replied:"Hana bizek." :-) > > > > > > > > > > > > Discovery IS fun, that'swhy we have math > and > > > > > > science. > > > > > > Hana a kostky > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > > > > Do you Yahoo!? > > > > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by > filing > > > > online. > > > > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > > Do you Yahoo!? > > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > > > online. > > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > > > > > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > > online. > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > online. > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

what you need is tips for Algorithm Recognition, or the recalling of long term memory for use. Try to emulate the conditions that you were in while you memorized the algorithms, and they should come easier. And, upbeat music often helps dementia patients with long term memory recognition, perhaps that would help you though you arent really suffering from dementia to my knowledge. -K- --- Eric Johanson <epj69@...> wrote: > honestly, if you had them all memorized at one time, > then you > already know what it takes to remember them. it > doesn't sound like > you need our help. > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > "drunkenpike" > <Pikes2k@h...> wrote: > > a while ago, i used to be able to solve the cube > in less than a > > minute using the 40 orientation + 13 permutation > algorithms for > the > > LL. Now after like a month or so, i totally > forgot it all. Now, > are > > there some tips to memorize and keep them in the > brain, because > out > > of all of the 53 algorithms, there is no way to > keep all of them > up > > to mind as some wont show up as much as other > situations, unless > you > > just practice each one everyday. help, thanks > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

ack...headache machine deluxe IOW. I havent even solved a 3d one yet lol -K- --- Daniel Hayes <swedishlf@...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle > Bryant > <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > <snip> not many have tapped into the lucrative 4th > > dimension as of yet. Let's hope that changes soon. > > > -K- > > <Homersimpsonvoice> mmmmmmmmm.... 4D > Megaminx......</homersimpsonvoice> > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

Hey! Thats great! Do u mean on the 4x4x4 ... hehe ... A method with fast and intuitive 1st layer, middle edges by cleverly applying 3 cycles and 4 look LL should take u down to 40 sec average with a few weeks of hard practice. I can do about 30 secs that way :- ) I believe it's possible to reach 30 secs with any method which is not "deliberately more destructive than necessary". Quick recognition and execution is the key !! Happy cubing !! --Per K-- > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > Happy Days Are Here At Last > > (51.09) > > 1:01.27 > > 56.24 > > (1:18.02) > > 56.61 > > 54.47 > > 59.92 > > 55.05 > > 54.5 > > 1:05.7 > > 1:05.31 > > AVG = 59.57 > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

It was a typo goof more than anything else. I know how to xpell 'code' and spelled it correctly in the original message. Also in te original message I named three fields that I feek have plenty of original odeas for fyerther development. Richard said that I claimed only cube art can spawn original ideas. I was surprised that he missed those other disciplines. As i type this message, I may be interrupted and sent to the desktop. So I cannot proofread it. I apologize beforehand for any typo goofs. Hana a kostky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > an error is an error (thank you debate fallacy > research). I realize that what she said wasn't exactly > nice, but it doesnt license us all to flame. :D > -K- > --- Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > > Yes, a cheap shot Kyle. We all know how polite this > > was: > > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> > > wrote: > > > > Can you read? > > > > --- Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > > ah, now we all know that language barriers create > > > interesting spelling errors, that was quite the > > > cheap > > > shot there Richard. > > > -K- > > > --- Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@y...> > > > wrote: > > > > No I can't read, nor have I ever seen computer > > > > spelled > > > > with an "i" in it. I was disagreeing with you, > > > not > > > > lashing out, and I don't appreciate your > > spiteful > > > > comments at all. I used to give you a hard time > > > > about > > > > cube art, and I stopped. (it wasn't easy) I > > > suggest > > > > you seek some anger management. > > > > -Richard > > > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> > > > wrote: > > > > > Can you read? > > > > > I never said cube art is the only area that > > will > > > > > spawn original > > > > > ideas. In fact, I specifically listed two > > other > > > > > areas - coimputer > > > > > cuybing and cube cide development. > > > > > Hana a kostky > > > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > > > > > Richard Patterson > > > > > <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > > > > > > Just because there is a lack of interest in > > > Cube > > > > > Art, > > > > > > that doesn't mean it's the only area that > > will > > > > > spawn > > > > > > original ideas. There are still plenty of > > > > > original > > > > > > ideas to be had in all areas. > > > > > > -Richard > > > > > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > > > > > Hi, Duncan, > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I agree that seeking a new alg can be fun, > > > but > > > > > lot > > > > > > > has been done in > > > > > > > speedcubing. The time for uriginal > > discovery > > > > in > > > > > this > > > > > > > area was in > > > > > > > the 80s when Jessica and Lars were > > > formulating > > > > > > > > > > > their strtegies. If > > > > > > > you want to discover new things today, you > > > > > should > > > > > > > look into: > > > > > > > computer cubing > > > > > > > cbe code development > > > > > > > cube art. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I specilize in cube art. Drawing a picture > > > of > > > > a > > > > > > > Rubik's cube is not > > > > > > > cube art, you musr actually use Rubik's > > cube > > > > as > > > > > art > > > > > > > medium. I do > > > > > > > three dimensional stuctures, both cubical > > > and > > > > > > > non-cubical. The > > > > > > > website to look at is > > > > > > > http://wwww.design.rubikscube.info . > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I exhibited 3d designs in Toronto last > > > yoer.I > > > > > > > couldn't compete, > > > > > > > because I had no rivals! No one could do > > it! > > > I > > > > > was > > > > > > > thr only > > > > > > > exhibitor. I left Toronto in a state of > > > > shock. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Would you, as a mathmatician, happen to > > know > > > > of > > > > > > > anyone who can do > > > > > > > this? I have been asking this question of > > > > > bazzilion > > > > > > > people. Only > > > > > > > one person answered yes. When I inquired > > > after > > > > > the > > > > > > > name, he > > > > > > > replied:"Hana bizek." :-) > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Discovery IS fun, that'swhy we have math > > and > > > > > > > science. > > > > > > > Hana a kostky > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > > > > > Do you Yahoo!? > > > > > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by > > filing > > > > > online. > > > > > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > > > Do you Yahoo!? > > > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > > > > online. > > > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > > > > > > > > > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > > Do you Yahoo!? > > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > > > online. > > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing > > online. > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > > > > > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. > http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

4d Rubik'ds cube is a fascinating theoretical game. Trouble is, you cannot go get a 4dd cube at Toys'R'Us. Hana a kostky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Daniel Hayes" <swedishlf@h...> wrote: > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant > <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > <snip> not many have tapped into the lucrative 4th > > dimension as of yet. Let's hope that changes soon. > > -K- > > <Homersimpsonvoice> mmmmmmmmm.... 4D > Megaminx......</homersimpsonvoice>

Richard, When someone chews you out for not writing something and it is clear that you did, "Can you read?" is a standard reply, and generally is considered a mild reproof. Hana's reply wasn't spiteful or rude. In this case a stronger reproof is well deserved. Perhaps she should have asked if you take the time to comprehend what you read. If she was being rude she might have suggested that your parents were siblings. Seriously though, how would you deal if someone's disagreeing with you showed that they totally missed the point of something you said? I don't know how to deal with that to my satisfaction, but I *like* Hana's soft reply. David J --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > an error is an error (thank you debate fallacy > research). I realize that what she said wasn't exactly > nice, but it doesnt license us all to flame. :D > -K- > --- Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > > Yes, a cheap shot Kyle. We all know how polite this > > was: > > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> > > wrote: > > > > Can you read? > > > > --- Kyle Bryant <craptastic_crap@y...> wrote: > > > ah, now we all know that language barriers create > > > interesting spelling errors, that was quite the > > > cheap > > > shot there Richard. > > > -K- > > > --- Richard Patterson <richy_jr_2000@y...> > > > wrote: > > > > No I can't read, nor have I ever seen computer > > > > spelled > > > > with an "i" in it. I was disagreeing with you, > > > not > > > > lashing out, and I don't appreciate your > > spiteful > > > > comments at all. I used to give you a hard time > > > > about > > > > cube art, and I stopped. (it wasn't easy) I > > > suggest > > > > you seek some anger management. > > > > -Richard > > > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> > > > wrote: > > > > > Can you read? > > > > > I never said cube art is the only area that > > will > > > > > spawn original > > > > > ideas. In fact, I specifically listed two > > other > > > > > areas - coimputer > > > > > cuybing and cube cide development. > > > > > Hana a kostky > > > > > > > > > > --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, > > > > > Richard Patterson > > > > > <richy_jr_2000@y...> wrote: > > > > > > Just because there is a lack of interest in > > > Cube > > > > > Art, > > > > > > that doesn't mean it's the only area that > > will > > > > > spawn > > > > > > original ideas. There are still plenty of > > > > > original > > > > > > ideas to be had in all areas. > > > > > > -Richard > > > > > > --- "Hana M. Bizek" <hanabizek@e...> wrote: > > > > > > > Hi, Duncan, > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I agree that seeking a new alg can be fun, > > > but > > > > > lot > > > > > > > has been done in > > > > > > > speedcubing. The time for uriginal > > discovery > > > > in > > > > > this > > > > > > > area was in > > > > > > > the 80s when Jessica and Lars were > > > formulating > > > > > > > > > > > their strtegies. If > > > > > > > you want to discover new things today, you > > > > > should > > > > > > > look into: > > > > > > > computer cubing > > > > > > > cbe code development > > > > > > > cube art. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I specilize in cube art. Drawing a picture > > > of > > > > a > > > > > > > Rubik's cube is not > > > > > > > cube art, you musr actually use Rubik's > > cube> as art medium. I do > > > > > > > three dimensional stuctures, both cubical > > > and > > > > > > > non-cubical. The > > > > > > > website to look at is > > > > > > > http://wwww.design.rubikscube.info . > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I exhibited 3d designs in Toronto last > > > yoer.I > > > > > > > couldn't compete, > > > > > because I had no rivals! No one could do it! I was thr only > > > > > > > exhibitor. I left Toronto in a state of shock. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Would you, as a mathmatician, happen to > > know of anyone who can do > > > > > > > this? I have been asking this question of > > > > > bazzilion > > > > > > > people. Only > > > > > > > one person answered yes. When I inquired after > > > > > the name, he replied:"Hana bizek." :-) > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Discovery IS fun, that'swhy we have math > > and > > > > > > > science. > > > > > > > Hana a kostky > > > >

I was thinking of having an informal cube competition at the end of the school year, probably May, at Manhattan College(in the Bronx, NY). Would anyone be interested in competing? If so what would be the best day and time? I know we have a bunch of students here interested in the rubik's cube and it would be a great way to spread cubing. -Roland

Thank you,Duncan. A basic requirement of cube art is that the art pieces must yse Rubik's cube as art medium. This excludes hings like pictures with Rubik's cubes in them. I imposed this condition in Toronto in an effort to keep cube art closer in scope to speedcubing. I will send you an email, that will be more explicit on the subject of cube art. I think that one ought to estsablih a homomorphism between strategies and algorithms. By this I mean that each strategy should present several different algorithms. This should be published in the form of an encyclopedia as a study in recreational math. Take CornersFirst, the strategy I am using. After describing it in words one should present ine set of algorithms, then another set of algorithms.... Each set would lead to a solution of the cube. Is that what you meant? Are Fridrich annd Petrus methods strategies by thrmselves or do they belong to some higher strategy? Hana a kostky --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, "Duncan Dicks" <duncan@d...> wrote: > Hi Hana, > > Im sure cube art is veyr exciting. Not aware of anyone esle who does it I'm afraid. I think that there is still plenty of room for original discovery in both strategy and algorithms especially strategy. I think they ar elinked though - as new strategies appear algorithms that fit those strategies take on new importance. > Always on the look out for anything to do with cubes so if I spot any cube art I will certainly post. > > Duncan > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Hana M. Bizek > To: speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2004 1:16 AM > Subject: [Speed cubing group] Discovery is FUN!!!!!!!!!! > > > Hi, Duncan, > > I agree that seeking a new alg can be fun, but lot has been done in > speedcubing. The time for uriginal discovery in this area was in > the 80s when Jessica and Lars were formulating their strtegies. If > you want to discover new things today, you should look into: > computer cubing > cbe code development > cube art. > > I specilize in cube art. Drawing a picture of a Rubik's cube is not > cube art, you musr actually use Rubik's cube as art medium. I do > three dimensional stuctures, both cubical and non-cubical. The > website to look at is http://wwww.design.rubikscube.info . > > I exhibited 3d designs in Toronto last yoer.I couldn't compete, > because I had no rivals! No one could do it! I was thr only > exhibitor. I left Toronto in a state of shock. > > Would you, as a mathmatician, happen to know of anyone who can do > this? I have been asking this question of bazzilion people. Only > one person answered yes. When I inquired after the name, he > replied:"Hana bizek." :-) > > Discovery IS fun, that'swhy we have math and science. > Hana a kostky > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- > Yahoo! Groups Links > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/ > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > speedsolvingrubikscube-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey Everyone! I hope you all are doing well. I just wanted to let you know I fixed up my Cube Timer a little. It's posted in the "Files" area. It now calculates a scrolling average of the last 12 times and provides a 25-move scrambling algorithm, as per the "official rules" proposed on speedcubing.com: http://www.speedcubing.com/records/records-rules.html#officialrules As before, this timer is very simple, but that's the way I like it. Timing starts the moment that the space-bar is RELEASED, and stops the moment that the space-bar is DEPRESSED. Your times are copied to the system clipboard in case you want to paste them into a text file. Let me know if you encounter any problems. I haven't been cubing much since the championship, because I'm trying to recover from Carpal Tunnel (which I got from typing at work, NOT from the cube!!!). But sometimes time off is actually good for my average, assuming I don't forget any algorithms. Happy Cubing! Dan

Boo! It's only for PC! Augh... I hate being a mac owner. -Tyson --- In speedsolvingrubikscube@yahoogroups.com, cubin4speed <no_reply@y...> wrote: > Hey Everyone! I hope you all are doing well. > > I just wanted to let you know I fixed up my Cube Timer a little. > It's posted in the "Files" area. It now calculates a scrolling > average of the last 12 times and provides a 25-move scrambling > algorithm, as per the "official rules" proposed on speedcubing.com: > > http://www.speedcubing.com/records/records-rules.html#officialrules > > As before, this timer is very simple, but that's the way I like it. > Timing starts the moment that the space-bar is RELEASED, and stops > the moment that the space-bar is DEPRESSED. Your times are copied > to the system clipboard in case you want to paste them into a text > file. Let me know if you encounter any problems. > > I haven't been cubing much since the championship, because I'm > trying to recover from Carpal Tunnel (which I got from typing at > work, NOT from the cube!!!). But sometimes time off is actually > good for my average, assuming I don't forget any algorithms. > > Happy Cubing! > > Dan